Long Way to Goodbye
by Adam Epp
Summary: Rukia and Ichigo have disappeared and, try as she might, Karin cannot learn what happened. Did her brother abandon his home, or are he and Rukia dead?
1. I

**Note: **Another story that took a few strange turns before it became what it is now. But I think it turned out all right. The title of this story comes from Chapter 159 of Bleach, "The Long Way to Say Goodbye," and that's about all the connection this fic has to that specific chapter.

For people that care about pairings, I'll mention that Orihime's feelings for Ichigo are presented as an unhealthy thing for in this fic. That's all the warning I'll give (and it's about the only warning to give, for that matter).

A shout out to Laurie Bunter again, because she's awesome.

Lastly, I'll apologize for the prologue being essentially the same as the summary. It's only there to briefly explain the setting so people have a general idea of when my story is set.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Bleach_.

* * *

_**The Long Way to Goodbye**_

* * *

Prologue

* * *

_Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki disappeared one summer…that was all Karin Kurosaki knew, all she was told about the fate of her brother. His other friends came back, but decided not to explain two missing Shinigami. No one would tell her why they had even left, much less why her brother didn't come back. Did Ichigo abandon his home to live with Rukia? Were they dead? There was nothing to give Karin so much as a hint._

_Time passed and she wondered if she would ever learn what happened. It never came to her that she might not want to know the full truth._

* * *

I

* * *

The worst part wasn't that Ichigo was gone, but that Karin had to put up with the _fake_ in his absence. She couldn't wait to say goodbye to his ugly face.

The fake Ichigo disgusted Karin, to put it mildly. "Oh, oh, oi, beef sukiyaki!" he slobbered out his words during supper. He only stopped stuffing his mouth with food to drool over his plate. "Oi, Yuzu-chan, you're the best! Gimme, gimme, please!"

Not even waiting for Yuzu to pass him the food, the fake snatched half of Yuzu's work (far more than a fair share) and scarfed it down. Looking surprised, Yuzu watched him in bewildered silence, although she could still muster an uneasy smile. Dad, in the meantime, was eating nearly as fast as their false family member, but Dad was nowhere near as loud or obnoxious as was his norm—Karin never imagined she would miss the days when he regularly decked Ichigo during dinner, and yet she did. Silently, she picked away at her food, which didn't interest her (not to suggest it wasn't good; it was great, really). Having an appetite just wasn't easy with a pig sitting across from her.

Oh, that person may have looked exactly like Ichigo, but he was _not_ Ichigo. All of his scowls looked forced, his eyes trailed after any women with large breasts (so unlike Ichigo!), he had forgot Karin and Yuzu's birthday, he forgot his _own_ birthday last July, and sometimes he simply could not properly answer questions about the past. Karin had long since reached the simple conclusion; this wasn't her brother.

Just listen to him:

"Ah, takoyaki! Heaven, I'm in heaven! Yuzu-chan, you're a sweet angel—no, a goddess!—in the flesh!" Yeah, the fake worshipped Karin's poor, defenseless sister.

Yuzu managed a small laugh, unsure how to accept this behavior. Karin knew how to accept it: with an irritated groan.

"Yuzu, salt please," Dad asked a bit too kindly, if you asked Karin. "Karin, eat." Karin scowled and took a grudging bite. That it was delicious was small consolation. "You"—he addressed the fake (whom he never called Ichigo, Karin noticed)—"calm down. This isn't the first time you've eaten here; you don't need to make a mess of those clothes. Yuzu's going to be cleaning that shirt."

"Huh?" Yuzu squeaked. "No, Daddy, it's fine! I'm happy he likes it. Don't be mean to him!"

Dad looked hurt. "But Yuzu-chan…!"

Karin groaned again. Suppertime was absolutely unbearable these days. This stranger masquerading as Ichigo…Yuzu confused…Dad acting too much like a normal, authoritative dad…it all made Karin want to scream, _"He's not Ichigo! Why are we eating with whoever this is?! Dad, you seem to know this isn't my brother, but you don't do anything! Why?! Why! Where is he, really?"! _Not only that but, "_Where's Rukia?!" _The woman had only lived in the Kurosaki residence for a short time, but to disappear so suddenly without saying anything? _Don't any of you think this is more than a little weird?_

Frustrated though she was, Karin could not voice any of the questions burning her insides (hence the supper being unbearable). She'd tried explaining her suspicions to Yuzu and Dad too many times to no avail—they refused to reach her own conclusion. Dad rejected her conspiracy theories immediately (despite Dad's suspicious behavior around the fake), while Yuzu would indulge in Karin's ideas until Karin hit the brick wall she could never get past. If this person was not Ichigo, then who was he? How could he look and smell just like him?

And Karin had no answer for that.

The fake Ichigo devoured plate after plate. "Oh, yomch, nom nom. Dis' is ga real good, bah rahah gurgle snort." Did he ever bother to chew? "More, please!"

No answer other than this _thing_ was too stupid for him to be Ichigo.

* * *

The never-ending headache continued well into Karin's walk to school the next day (with Yuzu in tow). _The big problem's that I got no idea how I can prove that guy isn't really my brother_. Two whole years had passed and she was no closer to discovering the answer than ever. _Where to begin?_

And if Ichigo's inexplicable body switching act wasn't enough of a migraine, there was Rukia's disappearance, too. And when Karin said disappearance, she meant _disappearance_. It was bad enough that Rukia was gone, but only her family and Ichigo's friends seemed to remember Rukia had existed. Everyone else had no recollection of a short, dark-haired woman with attitude. For an aspiring junior detective, vanishing in body _and_ memory made quite the advanced mystery. Was it even possible to begin looking for clues? Sheesh!

Karin sighed. This was far too much to take.

"Are you worried about that English test?" ventured Yuzu out of concern. "You're always sighing and groaning and you don't seem to ever do homework…"

Karin's fraternal twin looked pretty worried and Karin nearly slapped herself on the head. "Oh, I'm not fretting over that dumb exam," Karin softened, chuckling a little. _Who cares about foreign languages, really?_ Goofy languages were nothing when she had to fix the family. In any case, Karin reminded herself not to moan and bitch around town—it just wasn't like her.

Yuzu didn't seem all that convinced about Karin's academic life. "Really?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "This isn't about Ichi-nii again, is it? He's been weird, I admit, but he is at that age, you know, when boys, uh, change." Yuzu blushed for a second but was soon stern once more. "But, really, I'm sure he's not a completely different person, Karin."

_He is a completely different person!_ "No, it's just—wait, what was that sound?" Karin paused in mid-sentence and her eyes darted all over the place.

Yuzu looked around, askance. The houses looked normal to her. A couple of other students were also walking to school. Some people had their sprinklers on. It appeared to be a normal, sunny, bright morning, even if it was a little too warm for spring.

Then, unmistakably, the sounds of a twig snapping and foliage moving could be heard.

"There! Over there!" Karin pointed dramatically at a hedge right beside Yuzu.

In response, something orange popped out and quickly fell back down. "Oww, ouch, careful…" the hedge grumbled in a low voice, sounding uncannily like a teenage boy.

"Aha!" exclaimed Karin and she jumped over the hedge in triumph. "It's you two again!"

Two high school students were crouching on the other side of the hedge. Two very _familiar_ high school students, Karin might add. Having been caught, the boy with lanky black hair stood to his full (and quite tall) height and nonchalantly adjusted his glasses, while the orange-haired girl rose with flushed cheeks, looking like an abashed schoolgirl.

Karin opened her mouth to rain hell down on them, but the boy talked over her, pretending she wasn't even there.

"Inoue," the teenage boy turned to his partner in crime, "I've told you before that your hair stands out. Be careful."

"But I had to peek over the hedge so I could see them," The girl showed some shame, but defended herself, nonetheless. "You have to keep quiet, though. She heard you say 'ouch' and that gave us away!"

"Huh? I could not help myself, as you had fallen on me. Next time, aim to land on the grass, not on my chest."

Stunned and with mouths agape, Karin and Yuzu listened to this bizarre argument between Orihime Inoue and Uryuu Ishida.

The ridiculous bickering continued until Karin lost her cool a second time and burst out.

"Would you two stop arguing!" she yelled in annoyance. In a flash, the pair's lips zipped shut—most satisfactory. Karin jabbed at Orihime (since Ishida was much bigger than Karin) with a finger. "You two were spying on us _again_!"

"N-no, we weren't!" Orihime hastily denied the accusation.

"Yes, you were!" Karin pressed on. "Right, Yuzu?" Yuzu nodded, taking a step away from the strange, older students.

Orihime shook her head unconvincingly. "We weren't! We were…were…we were what, Ishida-kun?"

Ishida's glasses flashed and he suddenly held a machete-sized knife (or sword, whatever). "We were trimming this hedge, Inoue-san," he answered and sliced away a piece of the bush for good measure.

"Right. Trimming the hedge!"

Karin threw up her hands. "How is that…?" Okay, she gave up on making them confess to spying on them. Instead, she stopped poking Orihime so she could put her hands on her hips and strike a menacing pose. "Hey, creeps, what happened to my brother two years ago?" she rounded on them for the umpteenth time.

"Karin!" Yuzu scolded her, looking aghast. Strange or not, Orihime and Ishida were senior students and should be shown some respect.

The pair went on the defensive immediately:

"What do you mean?" Orihime replied far too innocently (complete with averted eyes and a strained voice). "We see him at class every day. R-right, Ishida-kun?"

"Yes, Inoue-san," Ishida played his part in their double-act flawlessly. Too flawlessly.

Karin growled in frustration. "You two _still_ won't tell us?" ("Don't include me in this!" Yuzu interjected from a safe distance). "What about Rukia, then? If she went back home, like you two claim, why would she do that without telling anyone in my family, or without ever phoning us or writing to us? Hmm?"

The other two went quiet and huddled together, and began whispering to one another. Orihime nodded her head fervently but Ishida shook his even more forcefully. Very suspicious.

They broke up and all Orihime had to say after the quiet debate was, "Well…"

Karin smirked. _I've got you two this time—time to use my trump card. Try to explain your way out of this one. _"Because she's a Shinigami, right? Like Ichigo," she added knowingly.

You don't go around fighting Hollows on a regular basis or see ghosts your whole life without knowing what a Shinigami is. Karin had pegged Rukia for one a long time ago, but she had waited for ages to use this knowledge against the Stalk Squad (aka Ishida and Orihime).

In response, the Stalk Squad gave each other significant looks and went into another huddle. They appeared to disagree even more this time, although Karin couldn't catch a single word. When they came out, it was Ishida who spoke immediately.

"Yes, she is a Shinigami," Ishida admitted, ignoring Orihime's accusatory frown. "She…went back to Soul Society, where the Shinigami live."

On the opposite side of the hedge, Yuzu was confused by the discussion. "Err, what's a Shinigami?"

But Karin was too busy scrutinizing Ishida to explain things to her sister. "Then why didn't she tell us? Or write?"

Orihime was still glowering at Ishida, but he replied with a blank face, "She couldn't. Mail doesn't get through from there."

Abruptly, Yuzu gasped and began tugging on Karin's arm. "Karin, Karin…"

Karin was lost in thought and paid no attention to the tugs on her arm. _I guess a Shinigami shouldn't need to write letters to girls in Karakura. Still…this doesn't add up somehow_. Hmph! She thought her trump card would get some real answers from those two, but she should have known better. If only there was someone else she could ask, another one of Ichigo's friends who might know…

"Hey, you two," she addressed Ishida and Orihime (the latter was sweating on pins and needles, by this point), and continued ignoring Yuzu's tugs on her arm, "what's Chad been up to? I know he's been going to his classes because I've seen him a couple of times but I can't get him to talk with me."

For once, Ishida and Orihime looked truly bewildered.

"Karin, Karin," Yuzu tried to gain her sister's attention again.

Orihime shrugged. "I would like to know what Sado-san's been doing, too, but I haven't had a chance to ask him, either. He's been going somewhere after school but will not tell us about it."

Karin's shoulders slumped. "I see. Well, I still want to know –"

"KARIN!" Yuzu screamed at her, and Karin jumped. Yuzu was not often furious so it was a strange spectacle to behold; her pink face and puffed-up cheeks were oddly frightening.

"What?" said Karin, a touch apprehensive.

"We are _late _for class! We need to go! We have an exam, remember? I've been trying to tell you this for a minute now!"

"I'm not done with you, two…!" Karin hollered at Ishida and Orihime, but she could not resist being dragged away by an angry sister.

* * *

Giving her lessons their duly attention that day, however, was impossible for Karin Kurosaki. She was a bright girl, don't doubt it, but her mind wasn't at its sharpest during the English test. Karin couldn't help but be distracted; she kept wondering about her brother, Rukia, the oddities known as Ishida and Orihime, and Chad. Classes whizzed by in a flash and Karin didn't learn a thing from her teachers. Nor were her theories about Ichigo and his friends any good.

"Come on, let's go home," Yuzu urged her with a smile. At least Karin's sister had already forgiven Karin for her morning tardiness.

Their walk home was shaping up to be less eventful than the morning's shenanigans when Karin's nose twitched and her body tensed.

Nearby, a dangerous spirit had entered this world.

"Yuzu, go on ahead! I forgot, I was going to, uh, one of my friend's houses today."

"What?"

But Karin had already run off and soon left Yuzu far behind. She wasn't going to miss an opportunity like this. With all the powerful people hanging out in Karakura, it wasn't all that often she got to take on a Hollow.

And, amazingly, she soon found herself alone with one of the masked monsters in the middle of the street. The sun above was cooking, unusual for late spring, and the glare from the Hollow's mask stung her eyes; Karin smiled brashly, feeling a little perspiration form on her temple. Good, she was all warmed up.

The Hollow shrieked. Karin flexed her fingers and cracked her knuckles.

About twenty seconds, though, she was already dusting off her hands as the spirit left this world._…Of course, it has to turn out to be a weak Hollow,_ Karin thought after a quick and painless annihilation of said Hollow. Painless for her, at least. _That must be why no one else took care of it first—too weak…Then again, I _have_ gotten a lot stronger since winter._ She smiled wryly at the thought.

Sure, this Hollow was impressively strong compared to the trash that used to haunt the town before Ichigo and Rukia left, but the recent tormented souls thrashing about were made from a higher cut. It made for good training, but their growth could be bothersome. Oh well! It made her feel better to beat the hell of something, anyways!

Then, Karin's good spirits were cut down when she felt two strong presences in the near vicinity. _Them again?!_ The Stalk Squad: Ishida and Orihime. Seemed like they were _always_ around her.

"Hey, you two!" she called out loudly to make sure they heard. "I know you're out there! I already told you to stop following me!"

Immediately, Karin lost track of their _reiatsu_. Either they fled or hid their spiritual pressure. Probably the latter. Tch. Obviously, they didn't want yet another confrontation with the badass Karin Kurosaki. Leave it to them to spoil a good workout session. Had Ishida and Orihime dedicated their free time to pestering Karin or something? Must be real fun for them, she was sure.

Karin was seething so vehemently, she almost failed to sense a new, much stronger and unfamiliar _reiatsu_; it was a few blocks away. Instantly, curiosity tempered Karin's anger. She was certain she'd never felt this energy since she'd gained the ability to discern spiritual pressure last summer.

_Could it be…?_ Hope made her heart race, and Karin used her speedy legs to dash to the stranger's location. She mustn't set her hopes too high.

_Could it be Ichigo or Rukia? The…the spiritual thread…it's red! A Shinigami!_ Exhilaration shortened the time of her pursuit. She ran around a street corner and saw a flurry of black robes run into an alleyway. And Karin saw some hair that was definitely not black.

"Ichigo?"

Karin ran to the back alley, but the Shinigami and the _reiatsu _had vanished by then. Her heart sank, against her will.

Her mind raced. This was by far the best evidence she'd seen in two years, believe it or not. Had that been Ichigo? She wasn't sure if she had seen orange or blonde hair (it might not be either, however). _Was it Ichigo?!_ She didn't get the best look at the man (it was a man!), so she shouldn't jump to conclusions. But what if it was Ichigo? She was disappointed she hadn't cornered this man, but this was a good sign—it had to be!

Only, if it was Ichigo, why would he have run away from her? Furthermore, this did not prove that the fake Ichigo was a fake Ichigo. Karin needed more information. Grr.

Oh, where the hell was Chad? Karin knew that she would find answers as soon as she cornered him (or, rather, that she could bully answers out of him), and then she could rectify things at home. As soon as she found Chad…bah, he was useless, too, at the moment! So was her brother for sticking her with a stupid fake!

But Karin couldn't go home in a huff, no matter how irritating Chad and her brother could be. At the very least, she had somewhere to start from now. Just follow the Shinigami. Nobody could hide things from Karin forever.


	2. II

The plot thickens…

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Bleach._

* * *

II

* * *

The next three weeks trudged by and the end of May neared without a flourish. Hollows were few and far between for Karin, and all were even weaker than the last one she fought. Classes were dull and best not spoken of. The fake still ate Ichigo's food. Karin could not shake the feeling that she was being watched. Partly because Ishida and Orihime were definitely watching her (and Yuzu, too), but she had an unsettling sense of eyes on her back that she couldn't explain.

Unfortunately, Karin didn't see or sense that Shinigami, although she looked regularly. Was he spying on her? Karin doubted that.

At the very least, she did spot Chad out of the corner of her eye _once_ during a brief jaunt around town after soccer practice:

"Hey, Chad!" she bellowed as loud as she could. Despite herself, she smiled at the sight of him. This time, she would get some answers out of someone.

But the Mexican dummy didn't even turn around. Didn't give Karin the slightest indication that he'd heard her. So she yelled at him again and ran towards him. Then she _knew_ he heard her because he started running, too. Making matters worse, Karin couldn't keep up with him because she was still tired from running around the soccer field. _Not_ because he was fast, mind you—Karin prided herself for her speed.

She tried following the big doofus for as long as she could. However, she lost track of him after he slipped into a back alley. Some strange shop was in the alley, one Karin had never been inside before. Soon, she sensed the unseen eyes on her again and she shifted her feet. Another time then, Karin vowed, she would catch him. He wasn't going anywhere.

June arrived without acclamation. That wonderful hope she had experienced weeks ago was rapidly fading, and cynical despondence crept in. What good did knowing about that mysterious Shinigami and Chad do her if she could never speak to either of them? Karin grew sourer by the day.

"Want to go grocery shopping with me?" Yuzu asked one evening in a desperate attempt to cheer Karin up.

Disco music could be heard from Ichigo's room, and Karin swore she heard singing, too. The whole floor was shaking, probably from enthusiastic dancing. Oh god.

"All right, I'll go!" Karin agreed rapidly, glancing in the direction of Ichigo's room in horror. "Anything to get away from _that._"

Karin's disgust must have been plainly visible on her face, for Yuzu chided, "The music isn't _that_ bad, Karin. I kind of like it…Okay, I don't but…"

Regardless of musical tastes, Yuzu must have been happy her ruse worked, as she sounded playful, not stern. Her cheerfulness maintained itself while they left the house and strolled across town. As they got closer to their destination, the surroundings became quite familiar to Karin. It was that back alley again, where she had lost sight of Chad, the alley with that cheap-looking shop. Was this some dumb coincidence?

"You actually buy our food here?" said Karin, looking the shabby building up and down. Shady didn't begin to describe Yuzu's store of choice. It was impossible for Chad to have hid here; it was too scummy, even for him.

Yuzu smiled. "Yep! The cashier boy is so nice and the food is extra cheap for me!"

The invisible eyes were on Karin again. She stepped into the store after looking doubtfully at the sign: Urahara Shop, huh?

* * *

Erstwhile, Isshin Kurosaki was busy working at his clinic, ignoring the catchy sounds of disco from the second floor. People always got hurt, no matter the times, but not too many these days to Isshin's relief. The lack of patients gave his daughters more time to do their homework and they needed all the time they could find; Isshin wanted them to go into professional nursing, dammit, and they needed good grades for that. Besides, his new "son" was unexpectedly passionate about patching people up, and he picked up their slack (when he wasn't ogling ladies).

And speaking of his "son," who wasn't his son at all, Isshin decided it was high time to have another talk with the boy. Isshin was nearly done with his (hopefully) final patient of the night, and the boy should be showing up any second to give Isshin some minor assistance.

Right on time, the music stopped and Isshin heard feet stomping down the stairs. Isshin didn't know when his "son" had swiped his old CDs, but Isshin had to admit he had better taste than his actual son.

"Do I really need to wear these?" the false Ichigo complained as soon as he stepped into the operating room. He was wearing a pink, male-sized nurse's uniform, complete with a cap—Isshin's old outfit from his intern days. Although dedicated to preserving life, Isshin's "son" was equally fervent about whining, it seemed. "I'm a man, old man! Why do you even own one of these for men, anyways?!"

Isshin glanced at his patient, who had been viciously slashed across her chest. Nasty piece of work, that was. Courtesy of a Hollow, Isshin assume. She didn't stir, though Isshin wasn't sure if he should be thankful of that. She should live, though.

"Shut up, she needs to sleep," he hissed at his assistant, nodding towards the recently-bandaged woman on the operating table. "Just be glad I didn't stuff you into a dress or Masaki's old nurse uniform."

The false son cringed, his mouth agape. "Do you actually have dresses that would…? No, don't answer that, please, for the love of god. I do _not_ want to know."

"Ichigo" let his scowl drop as his eyes widened in terror; Isshin could never get used to seeing his son's face so—it always disturbed him slightly to be alone with this soul inhabiting his son's body. But the differences reminded him why he needed to speak to the imposter.

Frowning, Isshin went to the sink to scrub the blood off his hands. He always hated to see people hurt like this woman had been. Hated it so much that he had stormed out of Soul Society after they refused to create a division devoted to helping the victims of Hollow attacks.

But this was no time to reminisce. Isshin was not impressed with his "son's" behavior.

"Hey, you, Karin's getting way too suspicious about your real identity," Isshin reprimanded his fake son, grabbing his scalpel and wiping it down.

His "son" shrugged out of reflex, eyeing the scalpel warily. "I can't help it," he excused himself, sounding annoyed. "I'm not Ichigo and don't want to be that loser. Also," he added, looking highly affronted, "your daughters aren't here now, so you can call me by my name. Kon! K-O-N, like Keeper of the Nymphs, Kon."

Isshin snorted. _More like King of Neanderthals_. "Whatever. Just stop acting so goddamn stupid during supper, or I'm going to end up whacking you as if you _were_ Ichigo. And help me carry Miss Kozuki onto the stretcher so we can get her to a proper bed. That's all I need you for tonight. And speak quietly."

Although offended, Kon helped carry the woman off of the operating table, and he did try to whisper his protests as they pushed her into the next room, "But Yuzu's food is so good. I try to be a surly sourpuss when I eat, but then I smell that food and…" He drooled with glazed eyes.

Similarly, Isshin's eyes glazed with creepy (but fatherly) pride. "I know. Her cooking's even better than her mother's was…Wait, stop drooling, you have a patient right below your mouth!" he snapped and shook his head. "No matter how divine her food is, you need to frown, at the very least, every single time you eat."

"Why, though?"

Isshin blinked. "What do you mean, 'why'?"

"Why should I still pretend to be your son?" Kon elaborated, frowning for real. "It's been almost two years and I'm sick of this façade (and I'm getting way too used to this gross body!). It's not that tough to act as your son at school. His reputation as a punk means most stay away from me, and most of his best friends know I'm not him, anyways, and the other kids assume my cheeriness is because Ichigo got laid or something. But," Kon went on, "I hate lying to your kids. Yuzu-chan's an angel of mercy and Karin, uh…"

"Mostly avoids you since you irritate the hell out of her," supplied Isshin, his lip twitching.

Kon hung his head. "Uh, yeah, and she glares at me all the time. I can tell she wants to demand the truth outta me, and I, uh, don't see why she really oughtn't to have it. She knows all about spirits and that stuff, I think. I can't fool her—or Yuzu-chan—forever, y'know. I didn't know this being Ichigo job would last this long when I took it."

Isshin sighed and went silent. Together, they put poor Miss Kozuki onto her bed.

"You're right, for once," Isshin allowed the modified soul that much, as they walked back to the living room, "and I've been thinking about how to tell it to them, to be honest. I just…don't know what will happen to the family if they learn about you—it'll fall apart! What will the girls think if they're aware of what I know about what's happened to Ichigo," Isshin muttered, his voice hoarse with frustration, "which is to say, that I have no idea where he's gone. They'll be just as worried as I am about the moron."

Kon sensed the old man's anger and backed away cautiously. "You really don't got a clue about where he or Rukia-sama slipped off to, do you?"

Isshin shook his head.

"But, aren't…aren't you friends with that Urahara guy?" Kon was full of fear; he hadn't forgotten how Urahara tried to terminate his soul. "Wouldn't he know?"

"It's the same as I've told you before. If Urahara knows, he isn't telling me anything," Isshin growled, "and I can't ask Ichigo's friends since I'm not supposed to be known as a Shinigami for my job's sake." The last thing Isshin needed was to be dragged off to Rukongai and imprisoned.

"Well, they won't say anything to me, either! They don't like me for some reason!" Kon hurriedly said, as if expecting an accusation from Isshin.

_Wonder why they don't like you_, Isshin thought, looking at Kon in the pink nursing outfit, and the two went quiet.

Kon broke the silence. "Do you think he and Rukia-sama will ever come back?"

"Well, if I knew Ichigo was dead, I wouldn't let you fool around in his place and would give my son a proper funeral. I need to make sure he has his room and his body waiting, in case he ever returns. You're stuck where you are for now."

"Oh," Kon said. "Anyways, can't you let your daughters know? I mean, you say you don't want the family to fall apart, but isn't that already happening? You may be a doctor, but that won't help if worst comes to worst."

Isshin couldn't think of how to reply to Kon. His words were far too true for Isshin's liking.

* * *

The Urahara Shop was a strange, new world for Karin, with every shelf packed with oddities and bizarre collectibles. It was dedicated to the unusual by all appearances; the only regular items, the groceries, were stuffed into a small corner and hard to spot next to the giant, stuffed samurai panda. Even if she didn't buy anything, she could have just stared at the weird, life-sized mechanical arm or all the other gizmos and gadgets. Karin had no idea what Soul Candy was supposed to be and may have asked someone what it was for, but something quickly distracted her after she stepped through the door.

"Ah, it's you!" Two kids yelled at each other in unison, pointing and glaring.

Or rather, _someone _distracted her. Karin and the boy Jinta Hanakari recognized one another immediately, and they were none too happy to see each other again.

A staring match ensued between them—Karin sure as hell wasn't going to show any weakness to that loser (even though she must have looked weak once her eyes began to water). The match went unnoticed by Yuzu, who was humming to herself, walking down the aisles and comparing prices. Great big teardrops streaked down Jinta and Karin's faces—as if Karin would yield so easily! Blood rushed into their faces, but neither gave in. Karin didn't so much as budge, even when a black cat brushed against her leg.

Finally, Yuzu walked by them and Jinta could not resist glancing at her for whatever unfathomable reason. Realizing his mistake, he hung his head while Karin cheered. Yuzu watched her, bewildered, then asked Karin if she wanted pickerel or trout for supper. Trout, of course.

"Wait, wait!" Jinta barged into the sisters' conversation, "Are you two related?" His mouth stayed open, his jaw ready to drop.

Twin sister looked at twin sister, and they simultaneously nodded. Jinta's jaw promptly dropped. Karin couldn't see what the big deal was.

The lad thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "So, for every goddess there is a devil?" Jinta mused. There was no doubt which twin was goddess and which was devil, judging from his evil smile.

"Hey, why you!" Karin took offense to that, and Yuzu had to restrain her sister from socking Jinta one.

This Jinta fool acted very strange then; it seemed he was torn between smirking at Karin and kneeling on the floor to worship Yuzu. He ended up in a weird crouch with a strangled expression. Karin concluded that an idiot was born for every goddess and devil.

A door creaked open. Jinta and Karin scrambled to look innocent (without success).

"Ah, are you kids having fun?" the man who walked into the room cheerfully said, putting on a wide-brimmed hat. Momentarily forgetting to kill that Jinta bastard, Karin saw this stranger wore old-fashioned, clogs, in addition to traditional Japanese garb. What a weirdo.

"Hello, Urahara-san!" Yuzu chimed, stunning Karin. Her sister knew the weird sandal-hat guy?!

"Ah, Yuzu-chan!" Urahara's eyes took in Karin, and she fidgeted under his gaze. "You must be here with your sister," he surmised in a very knowing tone.

"Yup," Yuzu nodded, then turned to Jinta and held up her bag of groceries. "How much for these?" she asked him sweetly.

Jinta's entire body transformed into a disgusting shade of red. "Oh, th-they're f-f-free! Don't cost anything!"

Karin's eyes narrowed. Oh, now she understood. Her hatred for Jinta multiplied tenfold. _How dare he covet_ my_ sister!_

Meanwhile, Urahara scoffed at Jinta. "Free? What do you mean they 'don't cost anything'? If she doesn't pay, it's coming out of your paycheck!"

"Shut up, old man! I know!" Jinta yelled, obviously hoping to impress Karin's sister with his personal sacrifice.

But Yuzu just watched quietly, and when it seemed Urahara and Jinta were done talking, she said hopefully, "So it's free?"

"Yes!" Jinta declared (to Karin's great disapproval).

Yuzu smiled, and Jinta nearly fainted (to Karin's even greater disapproval).

"You kids," Urahara chuckled with excessive mirth. It wasn't that funny.

Anyways, that brat's display of affection for Yuzu was nearly as bad as the fake's singing, so Karin tugged on Yuzu's arm, "All right, let's go. Maybe Dad will need some help."

"Good night, Yuzu-chan, Karin-chan," Urahara bid them out the door. "Your patronage is always welcome. If Yuzu-chan didn't show up, I'd be bankrupt."

_Wait_, Karin thought, _did I tell him my name…?_

"C-come back again!" the revived Jinta called out. To Yuzu only, Karin was certain. She glowered at Jinta.

Okay, no time to dwell on the sandal-hat weirdo. Time to go before the bratty kid started praying. Karin hurried outside with Yuzu.

"Do you feel better now?" Yuzu asked about a block later. Her face was full of concern once more. "It was just grocery shopping, but I hope you had a good time."

Karin stopped. She had forgotten why they had even gone to Urahara Shop until Yuzu's question. Well, thinking about how things went overall…

"Yeah, I feel better," Karin realized, feeling warm inside. "The store really…took my minds off things. Thanks, Yuzu." They both smiled. "Here, let me carry those bags for you…"

* * *

The door closed behind the sisters, and Kisuke Urahara grabbed Jinta by the scruff of his neck when he saw the boy sneaking away.

"So," Kisuke did some quick mental math, "you owe me about…fifty-thousand yen, in total."

Jinta's shoulders sank. "Y-yes, sir…"

Kisuke let him go and Jinta scampered out of the room. He wasn't really mad at Jinta but it wouldn't do if the kid knew that. _No, not at all…_Maybe he would buy Jinta that baseball bat he wanted later. Maybe.

The owner of the shop became absorbed in his thoughts as he wandered out of the room, went down a ladder and arrived in a massive underground chamber. Various gigantic boulders were strewn about the chamber. Boulders created out of a special alloy Kisuke had created in his free time.

Shortly after Kisuke entered, he heard a loud bang as a bright explosion shook the chamber. One of the boulders was now nothing more than dust. Kisuke wished the man didn't blast through the rocks so fast; they weren't easy to make.

"Didn't feel like saying hello?" Kisuke chirped at the young man busy turning rocks into rubble. "You scurried down here right before Karin-chan came inside the shop. From the frightened look on your face, I would have thought a plague-carrying, ill-tempered, incredibly violent and smelly Hollow had walked in, not a charming young lady."

The other man didn't respond. He simply paused and destroyed another rock.

Kisuke sighed and threw up his arms. "You know, I still think you need a girlfriend and you'll never get one if you flee from every single girl on the planet. Punching rocks all day isn't healthy."

Crash. Another big stone exploded with even more force than the previous. The young man turned around to face Kisuke. Surprisingly, the young man's face showed even less expression than the stones he was blowing up. Kisuke was positive he was furious, however.

"I need to train, Urahara-san," he answered in a restrained, deep voice. "Seeing her, in particular, reminded me of that. That is why I came down here. I wasn't…afraid." A crack appeared on his stony face, though it was just a brief downward twist of his lip. He must have been more than furious.

"If you say so, Sado-san," Kisuke tutted the rock-crusher, "But surely you don't need to train _all_ the time. You've been training nearly non-stop for what, two years now? You're already impressively strong." The shop owner grimaced. "Even stronger than me now, I imagine."

Another explosion made Kisuke wince.

"You weren't there, Urahara-san," Sado-san explained. "You didn't see it. Aizen was totally obliterated by him. Aizen, who outclassed the rest of us, couldn't stand a chance against him. None of us could, either—he crushed us like ants after slaughtering Aizen! I'm not sure if I've even surpassed Aizen, much less _him_…"

Yet another loud bang and another rock melted away.

Kisuke rolled his eyes. "Have it your way then. Do you really think he could be _that _strong, though?"

"He's probably grown more powerful in this time, to be honest," Sado-san frowned.

"Scary thought. It really is too bad the Vizards are all gone or dead." Kisuke scowled. He blamed himself for their sad fates. "You really have no idea what happened to Shinji-kun?"

Sado-san shook his head. "No. When I came to, he and Ichigo both had disappeared. I think we might all have died if Hirako-san hadn't been there. That's what Inoue said and I don't doubt her. What Hirako-san has been through since then, I don't want to think about."

"Maybe you should," Kisuke sternly admonished the young man, whose arms and legs were no longer those of a human—his limbs closer resembled those of a Hollow. "You're pushing yourself dangerously hard. I don't want you to go insane in my basement; I just had the cavern redecorated, you know."

This time, the explosion shook the entire town.

"I won't make the same mistake, Urahara-san. It's those girls. I _need_ to protect them for Ichigo's sake, so I can say without a doubt that I'm Ichigo's friend. That's why I need to do this every single day, because one day they're going to need _my _help. And I will be ready then."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you, just in case…"

"Just in case I do turn Hollow, I'm in this basement, away from anyone else, and you can stop me. Not that this will ever happen."

Kisuke snorted and drifted out of the underground chamber. As he climbed the ladder, Kisuke could hear Sado-san's shouts.

"This wasn't supposed to happen! We were supposed to be done with fighting after Aizen died. Ichigo, you really picked the worst time to throw away your friends!"


	3. III

Things get a little violent in this week's chapter.

* * *

III

* * *

Karin and Yuzu plodded onwards to home in the middle of the evening. Although the sun had slipped under the horizon, it was still as warm as midday; Karin was vaguely aware that the heat was a little unnatural, but she paid it little attention. While getting out of the house helped Karin immensely, the silliness at the Urahara Shop could only cheer Karin for so long.

"_Good night, Yuzu-chan, Karin-chan…"_

What Urahara had said left an itch in Karin's skull that her mind couldn't scratch, and it irritated her more the longer she stewed on it. How had that guy known her name, really? She hadn't told it to him. And the more she thought of his stupid grin, the more she wanted to smack him. If she hadn't been carrying fresh milk right then, Karin would have gone back to harass his stupid ass.

So Karin made a light conversation out of it with her sister.

"Say, Yuzu, did you ever tell that sandal-hat guy my name?"

"You mean Urahara-san?" Yuzu scrunched her face in concentration. "I might have, since I think I mentioned you to him before, but I don't ever remember telling him your name, no. Why do you ask?"

"Because he said my name and I know _I _didn't tell it to him. That guy's major suspicious."

Yuzu sniffed. "You think _everybody_ is suspicious lately. Onii-chan, Dad, Ishida-san, Inoue-san, Sado-san, Jinta-kun and now Urahara-san," Yuzu rolled out a hefty list.

She probably had a point, not that Karin would admit it. "Come on, I don't think _you're_ suspicious! That's not 'everybody,' right!"

Well, that seemed to please Yuzu a little, and they both giggled. When the laughter subsided, Yuzu became thoughtful and said, "But you _are_ right about Urahara-san, at least. I think he's a little suspicious, too," she confessed. "His store sells shady things, not just groceries, and the first time I met him, he said," Yuzu lowered her voice in imitation of the shop owner, "'Oh, you're Kurosaki-san's little sister, aren't you?' How come he knew Onii-chan?!"

Had Karin been drinking anything, she would have spat it out. Luckily, she wasn't, although her mouth sputtered stupidly, nonetheless:

"W-w-what?!"

"Yeah! I asked him how he knew Onii-chan and he just laughed. It was creepy. Later on, when I asked again, he said that he knew all of Onii-chan's friends, too."

Karin tried absorbing this information and putting it all together. Mister Sandal-hat knew Ichigo. Her brother was a Shinigami. Also, her bro's friends could see ghosts and fight them, or so she assumed. Urahara sold strange merchandise…wait, did he sell things to Shinigami? Karin should have taken a closer look at the things Urahara sold (curse that Jinta!). But, if that place and the sandal-hat dude were involved with souls and Shinigami, maybe that guy could prove the fake wasn't her brother! The puzzle might unravel itself yet.

"Is that true? He knows Ichi-nii's friends?" Karin burst out, unable to hold back her excitement.

Yuzu was taken aback by Karin's fervor, but replied, "Yes, I'm sure it's true. I've seen Sado-san going in and out of there a few times during grocery shopping…though I don't think he noticed me—he didn't look at me ever…"

Perhaps Yuzu would have said more, but she stopped when Karin suddenly hugged her for all she was worth. It was sort of awkward, as Karin was holding two bags of groceries and they were in the middle of a street at night, but Karin couldn't care less. She now knew where Chad was hiding (and wouldn't need to interrogate the sandal-hat creep if Chad was there!), and her twin sister was truly an angel.

Karin recalled where she lost sight of Chad and slapped herself on her head. _Duh! Of course, Chad must have gone to that shop. He disappeared around that back alley and I had to be dumb enough not to look for him inside the obvious hiding spot._ Just because she had a feeling that strangers were watching her, she had to run well. Karin had learned her lesson.

"Um, Karin, the food," Yuzu gasped, "this is nice…but a can of soup is digging into my leg…"

"Oh, sorry," Karin mumbled and stopped squeezing the life out of her sister. The world was a wonderful place, though, all of a sudden, and she felt giddy. _I am so glad I went out tonight_. Karin could almost feel Ichigo and Rukia getting closer. Soon. _Maybe I can even find Chad tonight and…nor, mustn't get ahead of myself…_

"Karin?"

"Ah, sorry," Karin apologized again. "Hmm, we should go home." Now that she knew where Chad's lair was, she could pin him whenever she wished to. Ha, and the lout wouldn't even see it coming!

"No, not that…um, Karin? I feel cold…"

Hold on. Karin really looked at her sister. Yuzu's face was white and she was trembling. _She's terrified!_ What?

Then a powerful force pounded against Karin's chest as she heard a wild howl. The streetlamps flickered out, plunging the block into darkness. It felt to Karin as if all her warmth was sucked away. That uncomfortable sensation of being observed returned to Karin.

"K-Karin, w-what is that?" Yuzu pointed behind her twin. "I can't see it clearly—it's too dark—but I heard…"

Even if Yuzu couldn't say what it was, Karin knew what the source of this evil was: a Hollow! Judging from the magnitude of its _reiatsu_, Karin would bet it was the strongest one to materialize in Karakura in weeks. And it was about to enter this world right next to Karin and Yuzu.

Calmness, brought about by necessity, enveloped Karin; she knew how to handle this. Carefully, she set down the bag of groceries and took Yuzu by her shoulders to steady her twin. Karin could deal with this threat, if she was careful, but Yuzu needed to flee to a safe location first.

"Yuzu," Karin spoke slowly, conveying none of her own worries, "what you can't see is called a Hollow. It's a bad spirit—I can't explain more than that. You need to go back to Urahara Shop; I'm sure he or maybe Chad could protect you. Hurry! I can fight it!"

Yuzu was stunned. "But, Karin…! How…?"

"Go! I can't explain. It's going to be ready to attack very soon!"

"Karin!"

From a hole in reality, a gateway to another dimension, two misshapen, tiny arms forced their way onto the road, followed by a square-shaped chest, a tale, and large muscular legs. Karin glared at the Hollow's mask; those jagged, sharp teeth would not intimidate her.

"Now!"

Staring down the Hollow, Karin was glad to hear Yuzu's footsteps fading away. Karin knew she wasn't as strong as this demon, but she was very, very fast. In battle, speed was everything. She could win, so long as she was as fast as she believed she was. Worst case scenario was Karin couldn't kill it and had to run away and let someone else finish the job.

_No! Don't even consider the worst possibilities. Win! Nothing else is acceptable!_

The Hollow's tongue slipped out of its mouth, and it slobbered over the asphalt; the road steamed and melted wherever its saliva landed. It was easy to think brashly, but this fight wasn't going to be as easy as the last one: Yuzu's life depended on Karin this time. Her first move could determine whether or not Yuzu died. Clenching her teeth, Karin braced herself and charged at the monster.

As the Hollow swung its tail to swat her down, Karin was already ducking and sliding beneath its square-shaped belly. In a flash, Karin kicked once, twice, thrice in rapid succession to its belly, neck, and then chin. The Hollow crashed into a building thirty meters away, and then hit the sidewalk hard. Not long after, though, it stood on legs that _should_ have wobbled more than they did. There was a small crack in its mask.

_Dammit, if only I had more power behind my kicks! _Karin cursed. It sucked being thirteen. She thought of Yuzu, who couldn't be very far away yet. _I need to draw away this ugly lizard. _So she dashed a block away in the opposite direction her sister had gone, daring the freak to follow her.

For a split-second, she paused to wait for the Hollow to chase. She looked behind her back, expecting to see a gross face; it wasn't there. The Hollow hadn't followed her: it was running the other way—it was going after Yuzu.

Fear barraged Karin as she realized her foolish mistake in an instant. _You idiot, Karin! After you beat the shit out of it, obviously the freak is going to try an easier target!_ She berated herself and sprinted faster than ever.

It took about five seconds for Karin to catch up to the Hollow, but it wasn't fast enough. No matter how she had made the Hollow's knees shake before, it was still bloody fast. By the time she caught sight of her sister's blonde's hair, the Hollow was right behind Yuzu. Karin was quick, yes, but not _that _quick.

Yuzu screamed. That slobbering tongue nearly drooled acid onto Yuzu. Karin tried to coax more speed out of her feet, but couldn't. The Hollow's teeth were right next to Yuzu's head—in another second, the mouth would close in with sickening crunch. Karin closed her eyes and stumbled to a hopeless halt. Her tears couldn't even catch up, it was happening too fast…Her sister and best friend was going to die.

_I'm such an idiot!_

Then, through her closed eyelids, Karin sensed a blazing bright light. There was no sound of teeth ripping apart flesh, no terrible scream of pain from Yuzu. Instead, it was the Hollow who shrieked in agony.

Karin's eyes flashed open and she hurried to rub the wetness out of her eyes. Did she see right? Yes. Surrounded by a transparent shield, Yuzu was safe, albeit appearing as shaken as Karin felt. The hideous Hollow was on the other side of the street, pierced against a wall by a shining bolt of light.

_What…happened?_

Karin hadn't a clue how this transpired, but she and Yuzu ran to each other and hugged in much different circumstances than their last embrace. Nothing needed to be said. _She's safe, she's safe_. At the moment, Karin's suspicions about Ichigo and her detective work seemed totally stupid. _Yuzu's safe! _The relief overwhelmed her other problems.

_But how is she safe?_ Karin wondered once she was better composed.

Karin looked over her sister's shoulders, but it was still too dark to see. On cue, the streetlights flickered back on, illuminating a distant building. Two tall silhouettes stood on it. One was clearly a man, while the other was a woman with long hair. Of course. Karin was so accustomed to them trailing her, was so preoccupied with protecting Yuzu, that she had tuned out their _reiatsu_. They had been close to Yuzu and Karin the entire time.

Orihime and Ishida.

_Is this why they spy on us? _Karin thought and a sense of shame assailed her. There had been times when Karin was fighting a Hollow and one of its bites or scratches inexplicably failed to connect with Karin. She had dismissed it as luck. _This whole time, they kept us safe?_

She averted her eyes away from them, stunned—and was amazed to see another silhouette on top of a different building. Closer than the others, it was a second man, wearing what had to be Shinigami robes. His hair wasn't black, but lighter—not quite orange, closer to red, but maybe it was too dark to say for sure. Almost as soon as she saw him, the second man vanished.

They had so many guardian angels.

What should Karin do? Then she realized the only way to repay them right now.

"Thank you!" she cried out as loud as she could as the silhouettes disappeared.

* * *

Far away, in another corner of Karakura, a slender, tall Hollow carrying a sword entered Karakura undetected. The air seemed to hiss and steam around this new arrival, and the Hollow's feet charred the cement when it took its first step. It surveyed the town coolly, hardly recalling Karakura as a place it once called home. No, it had never been much of a home to this Hollow with a sword; more like a prison as the Hollow remembered.

Had anyone seen this slender Hollow, he or she would have shuddered. It was powerful enough and possessed enough hatred to threaten all of Soul Society, but this armed Hollow was smart; it kept its _reiatsu_ hidden. The Hollow with a sword retained more humanity—more intelligence—than most of its kind, and knew better than to flaunt its power too soon. Better to feast on unwary, weak souls, in the beginning, and grow stronger until nothing could stop it. Perhaps it had more humanity, this Hollow with a sword, but what little traces of humanity remaining to it had been twisted into something horrendously vile.

The Hollow licked the blade of its sword and slid into the darkness. The shadows recoiled at its coming.

* * *

After the tension settled and Karin found her voice again, she apologized repeatedly to Yuzu, even though her sister brushed Karin's worries aside. "It's fine, I'm okay," Yuzu murmured. Then the sisters, holding hands, walked home in a subdued silence, giving Karin ample time to ponder over the happenings.

_I'm too weak_, she thought, frustrated. It annoyed her, but Karin had to admit that she would not be able to protect Yuzu on her own—she failed to do so before, right?—much less find out what happened to her brother and Rukia. Karin was only thirteen, after all; she needed to get even stronger (and probably needed a partner because, being a finesse fighter, she would never have pure, brute strength). She was in Ishida and Orihime's debt for saving Yuzu, but now she wished they would stop following Karin; the Safety Patrol, as Karin now thought of Ishida and Orihime, should focus on protecting Yuzu. If they always saved Karin, she would always need someone holding her hand.

But, without them, Yuzu and maybe even Karin would have died. She wasn't being grateful enough. However, Karin was certain she could have killed that Hollow on her own. Still, only minutes after Karin's colossal failure, she could not believe that she deserved such protection for herself.

Also, perhaps because she doubted her self-worth then, Karin began to wonder. _Why are Yuzu and I, specifically, being guarded so heavily? _Yeah, Ishida and Orihime were Ichigo's friends, but the two seemed to dedicate far too much time to ensuring the twins well-being. _They should be preparing for college entrance exams!_ Like, wasn't it Ichigo's job to be Mr. Big Shot Hero? Karin would feel a lot more comfortable telling Ichigo off about saving people instead of his friends.

Yet Ichigo didn't seem to go around waving a sword anymore. Two years ago—before the fake—Karin always seemed to see him running off somewhere in black robes. Not anymore, except maybe for those two times she glimpsed the figure of a Shinigami. But Karin doubted that man was Ichigo the more she thought about him. Oh, she really wanted to believe it was him, sure. It had been dark outside but Karin swore that man's hair was darker than her brother's. Also, she doesn't get a vibe that said that Shinigami was her bro.

While Karin did find a lead on Chad, it felt like she was making no progress. The mystery of her brother and Rukia still eluded her, and Orihime and Ishida had demonstrated how behind Karin was in terms of strength. It was disheartening, yeah, but that did not mean in any way that Karin was going to give up.

They finally reached their home and were greeted by a teary-eyed, worried Dad.

"My babies!" he squealed when they walked through the entrance. "Where were you? I was so worried! Come to Daddy!" He popped open the top button of his shirt, unveiling his thick mane of chest hair. He spread out his arms, inviting them to a family hug-a-thon.

Although Karin slapped him for being a moron, it relieved her to see Dad being wacky again.

After Dad stopped complaining about his daughter's violence and Yuzu went ahead to the kitchen with the groceries, Dad pulled Karin aside. "Karin," he said in a lecturing tone, suddenly most serious, "we need to talk."

Oh no. _This can't be good._ Nothing good ever happened when parents spoke with this tone.

"What is it?" Karin asked cautiously.

_Does he know what happened earlier?_ No, that was impossible. He knew nothing about ghosts and Hollows. What could he want now?

It turned out to be far worse than Karin could imagine.

"Your teacher phoned me about your marks while you were out," he solemnly told Karin. "What happened? You're failing three subjects. You need to start studying hard every night! I'm putting you into cram school, Karin. Summer exams are coming right up and you _will _be a proper nurse!"

Karin's mouth fell open.

"_What?!_"


	4. IV

This week's chapter is slightly longer than the last.

* * *

IV

* * *

There was a fake living in her bro's body. Chad was up to something, as were Ishida and Orihime (though Karin now knew they were looking out for her). A slime ball of a Hollow almost killed Yuzu. Rukia was missing. And Karin was supposed to sit around and do homework?!

Yeah, June was hell. Her afternoons were wasted in cram school; Karin didn't even have a chance to confront Chad, nor could she vent her anger out on Hollows. Her brain was being pounded by information she didn't care about, and she despaired of ever getting those ink-stains out of her hands. Yuzu didn't help. Well, she did help, just not the way Karin wanted; Yuzu appointed herself Karin's tutor and told her sister, in no uncertain terms, that Karin was not going to be held back a year. Dad was even worse.

Karin had no idea where he found the time to be obnoxious, as the clinic kept getting busier, but he never missed a chance to nag Karin. His rants, his body movements were just…shudder.

"Since when did you care about our marks?" Karin snapped at him one day. "You never got on Ichigo's case!"

"He always got good marks," shrugged Dad. Abruptly, manly tears leaked out of his eyes. "And he's never been my baby girl!"

And so summer began. Perhaps it was only Karin's imagination, but she never remembered it being hotter. Within the prison known as cram school, the outside never felt more alluring. The soccer field called to her, but she could not answer its summons. She cooked inside a room without air conditioning, paying penance for her sins.

Furthermore, learning the names of Japanese emperors and mathematic formulas left little time to reflect on Ichigo, Rukia, Chad and the others. It was school in the day, school in the evening, and then time to sleep. Real life (if it could be called that) was keeping her away from much more concerning matters. Desperately, Karin desired to be free of the endless studying.

Until the seventeenth day of June arrived and changed everything. She woke up that morning next to Yuzu, who must have snuck into her bed during the night. With a start, she realized it was the anniversary of their mother's death.

* * *

_Hey, mom, it's been another year. I hope the afterlife is treating you well. I can't believe you've been gone for eight years…_

Karin prayed at her mother's gravestone as her yearly tradition dictated. A few clouds cluttered the sky, but the sun reigned supreme; once again, Karin wished she had brought her hat. It hadn't rained in forever and a drought had been declared, but Karin reckoned there might be a small shower—it _always_ seemed to rain on the seventeenth.

_The goatee-bearing freak of destruction known as Dad is, uh…_Karin glanced to the side. Dad was hyperactive again, challenging Yuzu to a race. _He is…so healthy it's sickening. Yuzu's doing pretty great, although I'm worried that boys will start chasing after her. This one moron, Jinta, in particular…well, you probably already know about him. _Karin's sister was running from Dad, but she was not participating in a race. Karin sighed and grimaced._ I almost let Yuzu join you a few weeks ago…_Yuzu hadn't asked for an explanation about Hollows, thankfully, but Karin was reminded of her own failure whenever she saw Yuzu. _I hope you'll forgive me for being such an idiot, Mom._

To the right, "Ichigo" strolled through the graveyard, as if he didn't belong with Yuzu, Karin and Dad. The fake had muttered that he was searching for the absent priest. Yeah, as if.

_Your other two children are not so well. For one thing, I'm in homework hell, which is stopping me from doing what I want. I'm also stuck with a fraud and that's what really driving me nuts. _She couldn't resist glaring at the fake. _Ichigo is…I just don't know about him. Can you believe that "Ichigo" forgot what day it is today? Either he's vanished somehow (and then I really need to find him!) or that imposter _actually_ is my brother. I'm not sure which would be worse—I've never accused him of being a fake in case he is the real deal, but…_

Something wet prickled against her arm: a single raindrop, the first she'd seen all month. Time to finish her respects.

_I just hope Ichigo isn't with you, if you know what I mean._

* * *

Out in the woods by the graveyard, two students lurked far away from the eyes of the Kurosaki family.

"Doesn't feel right being here, I'm just saying. Like we're intruding…"

"I know your opinion, Inoue-san, and note it with all due respect. However, you must agree that we need to stay close. It has not been long since young Yuzu nearly lost her life."

"You're right, Ishida-kun," Inoue-san mumbled, "but I still don't like it. The dead don't rest peacefully around strangers, I'll have you know, and we're making Kurosaki-kun's mom very cranky."

Ishida shook his head, incredulous. It was Inoue-san who first came up with the idea of protecting Kurosaki's sisters, and she was always the one to say the girls needed more surveillance. He had no idea where her peculiar, superstitious notion about graveyards came from. Especially since Inoue-san had gone to Soul Society; she should know better! Well, whatever the reason, it both amused and exasperated the Quincy.

Not for the first time, he wondered if Inoue-san knew he followed her primarily to make sure no Hollows attacked _her_. Regardless, he would see her wishes fulfilled and the Kurosaki twins would be safe—Ishida didn't want them hurt, either.

But he didn't expect any trouble today. Should be nothing more than a fine waltz through the local neighborhood graveyard. Not unless that one asshole was hanging around somewhere; Ishida recalled how he wasn't much help when Yuzu nearly died. All that asshole seemed to want these days was to kill Hollows. As if it wasn't more important to _save_ people.

"Do you think that _Shinigami_ is nearby, Inoue-san?" Ishida asked, saying Shinigami like a curse.

"Oh, don't call him that!" Inoue-san reprimanded him. "You two used to be such good friends!"

"Friends don't stop speaking to you for two years, Inoue-san," Ishida argued. "I can understand why he's so upset, but that's no reason for him to ignore the rest of us."

Inoue-san frowned sadly. "He just…well, he doesn't know that…it's perfectly natural to misunderstand, but…"

She glanced at Ishida, went red and trailed off. Ishida had no explanation for her behavior and an awkward silence stiffened the air between them. He hated it when their conversations floundered, as if they weren't friends.

"Sure is hot," he muttered after a while to change the subject, wiping sweat off his brow. His cross-patterned shirt clung to his back; likely, it was ruined. Sigh. "We're not even cool in the shade."

Inoue-san glanced up in surprise suddenly. "It's…raining, I think. I can't remember the last time it rained." She paused and added, "Not that it feels any cooler."

Ishida stood still and marveled when a few raindrops landed on him. Improbably, it _was_ raining. Not a whole lot, though; Ishida figured this rain couldn't last for more than another hour.

They walked down the path, amazed by the tiny shower.

"Wow!" Inoue-san exclaimed, smiling radiantly. Lord, she was beautiful. "I never thought I could miss rain so much! I—what is that?!" Her eyes widened and she pointed to a thicket of trees.

She and Ishida ran over to the spot she had indicated to, and what they saw made both want to sick up.

"Should we call for an ambulance?" Inoue-san asked anxiously, biting her fingernails. Her face was deathly pale.

"It's too late. He's dead." Ishida replied curtly, scouring their surroundings for threats. Danger seemed to lurk behind every single branch.

"Do you think it was a…a Hollow?"

Ishida hesitated. She must have been thinking along the same lines he was. "No," he finally said.

A few drops of rain fell during the momentary silence.

"Ishida-kun?"

"Yes?"

"I changed my mind. We should stay _much_ closer to Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan today."

"Agreed!"

They ran closer to the Kurosaki family, no longer caring if they were seen. But Ishida spared one more glance at the man leaning against the tree before dashing away. He must have been a priest at the shrine, judging from his clothes; somebody had slashed him across his throat. Only one kind of weapon cut flesh so neatly. The small rain shower was nowhere near strong enough to stop the priest's pool of blood from spreading.

* * *

Inside the graveyard's shrine, Karin was alone with her "brother". Occasionally, a lone raindrop pattered noisily against the shrine's rooftop. Both Karin and the fake made it a point not to look at each other.

_Great, how did this happen?_ She scowled. Karin didn't know if her nose was playing tricks on her or not, but he didn't even smell like Ichigo. He smelled worse. Then again, everybody seemed to smell bad since the drought started.

Actually, Karin _did_ know how the two of them ended in this room together. First, everybody rushed inside to cool off. Then Dad went outside again, mumbling something about an annual tradition, and Yuzu followed him to make sure Dad didn't smoke a whole pack of cigarettes. In the small chaos, neither Karin nor the imposter realized this meant being stuck with each other until it was too late.

Frankly, Karin had done her best to avoid this scenario, but then she went and messed up on the worst day of the year. The only good thing about cram school was it meant she didn't need to see this lout. She ground her teeth in vexation. _Dad's taking too long_, she boiled inside. _He's been gone for what, a—a minute? Man, hurry up!_

"Hey."

Oh no. Suddenly, he wanted to talk to her. Her worst fears were coming true. However, that didn't mean she had to listen. Nor did she need to dignify him with a response.

For a moment, both were quiet. The atmosphere between them was deadlier than a hurricane, an avalanche, and a volcanic eruption all rolled together.

Alas, he was persistent. "Hey, listen to me, ya brat!"

Karin did not view the fake as her brother, but it still shocked her to hear those words coming from Ichigo's mouth. Startled, she jumped and turned to face him. In an instant, anger replaced surprise.

"What?!" she glared daggers at the ugly guy who looked too much like Ichigo. Okay, she would listen, and then _he_ would listen to profanities she wasn't supposed to know.

He was glaring, too, she noticed. "I've got something I need to tell ya, so stop treating me like I've got the ugly disease and listen up, will ya!" he snarled. Yeah, more proof; her real brother would never treat Karin like this.

Despite her anger, Karin was intrigued. "Something to tell me?"

Could it be?

"Yeah, something to tell ya. I've been wantin' to for a while but haven't had a chance to 'til now," he elaborated. "And I need to do it fast before papa smurf comes back."

Papa smurf? She snorted and stifled an honest giggle. _Be serious, Karin, he's on the cusp of something important!_

"What is it?" she demanded, crawling over until she was right in front of his dumb face. Her earlier hostility vanished.

"Say you won't tell your dad that I told you –"

"I won't, I won't," she swore, shaking her head, too curious to register his request as odd.

"Okay, then, I'll tell you," he said and his shoulders appeared lighter. Karin leaned even closer. She'd been waiting for this for so long. "It may surprise you to hear but, believe it or not, Karin, I am not who you think I am," he revealed dramatically.

Karin's heart hammered against her chest: the truth. This fake was finally telling her the truth. Maybe he wasn't so bad. Sheer excitement tightened her throat. She breathed in and out, calming herself enough to say, "W-what do you mean?"

He sighed, acting strangely…what, did he actually think Karin was surprised by his confession? Give her a break.

Her heartbeat kept getting faster and faster.

"I am not Ichigo Kurosaki," he told her at last. "Let me properly introduce myself. The name's Kon. I'm a modified soul currently subbing for your bro. Sorry for acting like him, but I swear I don't wanna."

And then her heart came to a crashing halt, leaving Karin with a baffling sense of emptiness. She was right all along; he wasn't Ichigo. Shouldn't that make her happy? She'd been wanting to hear those words from him for so long, perhaps she hadn't realized what it would mean if her hunch was right:

So what if he wasn't Ichigo? That didn't get her any closer to finding out what really happened to her brother. Instead, now knowing this person was _not_ Ichigo only meant her real brother was that much further away. This Kon guy's answer spawned more questions.

Her pulse quickened once more, driven by a powerful concern for her brother. She was suddenly free to imagine any number of terrible fates that could have befallen him.

A slightly-rattled Karin grabbed Kon by the collar. "Then where is he?" she demanded, trying to figure out which questions to ask. "What—no, how—I mean, why are you in his body?"

"H-hey, I don't know where he went, either!" he wormed away from Karin and dusted himself off. "As for how I ended up in his body…"

He paused theatrically, all but begging Karin to demand for more.

She acquiesced. "Uh huh, uh huh, go on."

"Well, it's a long, sad tale of woe, but it begins when I was supposed to be discarded," he recounted slowly, passionately. Karin would have punched him in the mouth if he didn't need his mouth to talk. "And then Rukia the Goddess (and your brother, I guess) found me and she saved me! And from there –"

A paper door slid open loudly.

"Hey, we're back!" Dad shouted warmly, and then took in his daughter and Kon in surprise. "Hmm? You two are getting along okay? That's a change." His eyes narrowed on Kon.

"Oh, we were just, you know, talking…" the fake made up a lame excuse.

Argh! Of course, Dad had to show up and ruin things! Right when Kon was going to explain things to her!

Karin's mind wandered. _What happened to Ichigo? I think Kon really doesn't know—he did a horrible job acting as Ichigo and he's too dumb to lie, besides. And Rukia? What about her?_ That big lug Chad would come in handy for these questions, she believed; he had to have some answers and she would beat them out of his thick skull, post-haste.

Abruptly, Karin noticed Yuzu had come in with Dad and that she was smiling.

"Aw, Karin," she cooed cheerfully, "you're finally talking with Onii-chan again!" She positively beamed.

However, Karin couldn't muster a smile. Ichigo's absence was far too distressing now that this Kon had thrown away his veil. Again, on the seventeenth of June, it seemed another family member had been taken away from Karin. Yet, she still refused to cry—more than ever, it was essential that Karin remained steadfast.

Outside, the rain trickled to a stop.

* * *

Ishida and Inoue-san spied Kurosaki's family leaving the shrine, concealed carefully behind a nice, big tree. For a second, Kurosaki's dad paused to glance in their direction and they scrambled to hide better. Then Kurosaki's dad scratched his chin and hastened to join his daughters. Inoue-san sighed in relief and slumped against the tree.

"I still can't sense any Hollows. Aside from those few footprints burned into the ground that went nowhere, I can't find any clues," Ishida told her, frowning. He didn't like this. Normally, it was easy to detect violent spirits. "Can you, Inoue-san?"

"No…is that good or bad? Maybe that poor priest had been attacked by a regular hoodlum."

"A hoodlum with a sword?" Ishida doubted it. "No, something is out there. I can only think of one man who –"

"It's not him!" Inoue-san interrupted shrilly. She calmed herself and repeated firmly, "It's not. There's no proof."

Ishida eyed her wryly. "All right, it isn't him until proven otherwise," he conceded. "But someone dangerous _is _prowling Karakura and I believe it's after the girls. I do not think it's a coincidence that the murder happened so close to them."

Watching Karin and Yuzu walk down the hill with their insane father, Inoue-san offered no disagreement.

* * *

Once the twins were home and back in their room, Karin decided that Yuzu had to hear what Kon told her; after all, the freak only said not to mention anything to Dad. Surely Yuzu could hear, though, and she definitely needed to. This deception simply was not right and the lie could not continue.

But why did Yuzu have to be so happy about "Onii-chan" and Karin "bridging their sibling bonds"? There hadn't been anything of the sort!

"I'm so glad for you two," she couldn't stop talking about it. "Tomorrow, I'm going to make a special breakfast! Mom would be happy, I know it," she hummed to herself, slipping into her bed.

_Oh god_, Karin put a palm to her forehead. But…_No_, she thought resolutely, _I have to tell her or I'm a horrible sister. _Even if it meant Yuzu would share Karin's worries? She was so happy now. Maybe Karin only wanted her to know so she could have someone to comfort her…_No, that's not it!_

Pushing aside her doubts, Karin cleared her throat.

"Yuzu, me and, err, Ichigo didn't fix anything. It's not what you think."

Yuzu blinked before giggling softly. "Oh, I get it. I'm sorry. I forgot about _that_ part of you that needs to act cool and tough," she said. "You know, you can be cute and, to be honest," she confessed with rosy pink cheeks, "I'm worried some boy will notice that side of you and…"

_What?_ Karin's mouth fell open. That was absurd.

"No, you're wrong!" Karin yelled, regretting her words as they came out. Seeing Yuzu wince and looking hurt, Karin began to panic and tried to clarify herself. "I mean, we didn't 'fix' anything since he's not even Ichigo. He told me his name was Kon and, uh…"

And, despite Karin telling Yuzu the truth (as she knew it), Yuzu's cheeks puffed up in anger. Things were spiraling out of control.

"Kon?" Yuzu frowned, most upset. Her cheeks were red, but not because of shy happiness. "That's the name of Ichigo's stuffed toy. This is just silly. Here I thought you two were getting along, but you're still talking about that nonsense of him not even being Onii-chan!"

Karin's heckles rose. "But it's true! He told me! Ask him!"

"I will not! You two are probably in on something, trying to fool me into believing something horrible!"

"I'm not lying!" Karin yelled, getting angry, too. Yuzu wasn't supposed to react like this; she should have been happy they weren't related to that dork. "Agh!" she growled, "you just don't want to believe this because the fake Ichigo goes gaga over your food!"

Yuzu gasped and Karin clamped her mouth shut as fast as she could, but it was too late. Her big fat mouth had already made a big mistake: tears gushed out of Yuzu's eyes.

"Goodnight, Karin!" Yuzu forcefully turned off her lamp and put her back to Karin.

Karin opened and closed her mouth hopelessly, trying to figure out how to apologize. Yet she couldn't take back what she had said about "Ichigo" (it was true!), and Karin was aware that she, too, was furious at her best friend and twin sister.

She shut off her own lamp and turned away from her sister. "Goodnight, Yuzu!"

The room was pitch-black then, but Karin knew she wouldn't be falling asleep for a long time. All too quickly, her renewed vow to never cry again was challenged.

Not long after the spat, light creaked in as Dad poked his head inside the room.

"I heard shouting. Is everything okay?" he asked, sounding worried.

"We're fine!" they both yelled at Dad, frightening him off.


	5. V

Apologies to fans of a certain character.

* * *

V

* * *

Yuzu did not make her promised big breakfast. Only a bowl of cereal and a glower from Yuzu awaited Karin the next morning.

Dad eyed Karin and Yuzu back and forth. "What's going on with my two babies?" he bawled, discreetly peeking at Kon, "Is _he_ responsible?"

Karin returned Yuzu's glare as she sat down at the table. "Nothing's wrong," she lied, not caring how unconvincing she sounded.

For a second, she considered telling Dad about "Ichigo's" real identity and ranting about Yuzu's foolish insistence not to believe her. But one glance at Yuzu reminded Karin of how her sister had reacted to the news. What if Dad freaked out, too? Dad was an idiot, but Karin couldn't bear it if her entire family was mad at her. Also, looking at Kon, she conveniently remembered a promise not to tell Dad about the current "Ichigo"…

So she finished her breakfast, ignored Dad's probing questions, and left for class with a disgruntled sister.

It was weird walking to school and not talking to Yuzu. Likely it was her imagination, but she swore other people gave them funny looks. Furthermore, in the silence it was harder to ignore the familiar _reiatsu_ belonging to the Safety Squad; Ishida and Orihime were following them closer than ever. Irritated, Karin tried to ignore the orange-hair she regularly saw out of the corner of her eye; sadly, Orihime's ability to hide had not improved. Although Karin was eternally grateful to the woman for saving Yuzu, they _could_ have told Karin that a mod whatever lived inside Ichigo's body. Well, maybe they hadn't known about Kon, but Karin highly doubted that.

God, those two annoyed her today! Leaving Yuzu behind, Karin stalked towards the poorly concealed woman and kicked a tree. Surprised, Orihime fell out of the tree she had climbed and landed clumsily. Ishida followed, albeit more gracefully

Before Orihime found her bearings, Karin scowled at the both of them. "You two _lied_ to me about my brother. The fake, Kon, told me he was a mock—or mod—soul, whatever!"

Orihime's breath caught in her throat. _Busted_. "How…how did you find…?" She turned to Ishida for help.

He shrugged. "I never told her Kon was pretending to be Ichigo."

"Aha! You admit it!" Karin pointed a finger at both of them. Ishida, usually unflappable, clamped a hand over his mouth and Orihime winced.

"I…I'm really sorry," Orihime apologized sincerely, "but Kurosaki-kun wouldn't want you to worry about him and so we…"

"Well, that was stupid of him," Karin retorted. "Of course, I'd worry about him."

Orihime opened her mouth, and then closed it, deciding it best not to say anything. A wise choice since Karin would have torn her to shreds.

"So now you're picking on Ishida-san and Inoue-san, Karin, even though they saved our lives?"

Karin jumped—she thought Yuzu had been waiting in the distance. How much had Yuzu overheard? Not all, surely. And what did she mean Karin was picking on them? It was the other way around: Karin was the victim!

"N-no," Karin stuttered in indignation. Okay, perhaps she could have been kinder.

Yuzu frowned at her sister before bowing respectfully to Ishida and Orihime. "Thank you for earlier. I shall bake you two a cake." And then she left for school.

Karin stared at her, stunned, and forgot Ichigo's friends. This was all wrong; the rest of the world might desert her but she'd never conceived of losing Yuzu's faith.

Orihime cleared her throat, startling Karin. "Karin-chan," she encouraged, "don't worry, we know you appreciate our help. Err, deep down, that is. More importantly, Ishida-kun and I believe someone incredibly dangerous is after you and Yuzu-chan. Please be very careful."

_Someone incredibly dangerous? What? _Karin glanced at the pair, not very concerned about Orihime's warning. Yuzu would soon be out of her sight…

"I think you should hurry after her," Ishida suggested. Orihime looked at Karin apologetically.

Frustrated with the whole world, Karin walked after Yuzu, her head full of steam.

* * *

By the end of the day, the entire school seemed to be talking about Yuzu and Karin's sudden rift. Karin didn't give the whispers any attention and deflected her own friends' questions, mumbling something about the pressures of exams. In reality, she was thinking about how to get things back on track with Yuzu while doing her best to forget about the Safety Patrol.

_She doesn't believe what I say about Ichigo_, Karin thought. _That means all I need to do is _prove_ that Kon isn't our brother, and then _she_ will need to apologize to _me. _I'm not sorry I told her the truth! After I bring the _real_ Ichigo back, she'll be thanking me! _Yes, her relationship with Yuzu would return to normal once Ichigo was found. Karin became so obsessed with this notion, though, that she neglected her academic responsibilities.

Cram school (and school, in general) was better not spoken of, for Karin was hard-pressed to put forth any effort into her studies. Her performance slipped, and she was sick of her teachers' reminders of summer exams. Yuzu, her once angelic tutor, had transformed into a demonic slave driver, favoring the whip over the apple in her lessons. Or that was Karin's interpretation.

After cram school, she would pass by Urahara Shop in hopes of spotting Chad. Not to demand answers (although Karin would squeeze those out of him), but because Karin really needed a friend. He was not to be found.

Her home life was further complicated when patients flocked to Dad's clinic in droves; be it heatstroke or unnatural bruises, few people were healthy these days. Dad, Kon and Yuzu (when she wasn't tutoring Karin) were swamped with work. Karin offered to lend a hand—she cared about the sick, too!—and all three staunchly refused, saying her homework was more important.

Restless and boiling inside and out, Karin began to crave a good fight; anything to take her mind away from the rest of her life. Doing nothing but study had made her feel useless, and Karin needed to train; surely, if she had been stronger, nothing would have gone wrong with Yuzu. She recalled Orihime's warning vaguely, but dismissed it; with Ishida and Orihime tailing her constantly, Karin doubted she had anything to fear aside from a sunburn.

So, when a Hollow materialized in the middle of her route between school and home, Karin did not go out of her way to avoid it. In fact, she ran as fast as she could to fight it.

* * *

The Hollow with a sword watched the raven-haired girl run out of its sight. It had seen her before and her unnaturally dense _reiatsu _looked most appetizing—she had considerably more than the Hollow's usual prey. But the girl was being followed by the damnable Shinigami! The Hollow with a sword could not afford the risk. Hatred welled inside the slender Hollow, hatred for the girl and her guardians, but it resisted the urge to kill the teenager. Too dangerous with that bloodthirsty Shinigami and the other two around. Not worth it. That Shinigami, in particular, wanted him dead. No, not worth the risk. Soon, but not now.

It grated but the Hollow with a sword let the girl slip away. After a few more meals, the slender Hollow would be more than strong enough to slaughter the Shinigami, the other two, and then it would have its fun with the girl.

* * *

Karin skidded to a halt in the seedier side of Karakura, in a gloomy alleyway amongst the town's scummiest hovels. All right, she had gone a little out of her way to release her stress. But, oh, had she ever discovered the grandmother of stress relievers: looking right at home amid the trash was the largest Hollow Karin had ever seen. Big was the key word here: its arms, legs, body, tail, teeth and claws were all humongous. Only the Hollow's head and mask were small. Evidently, size had been prized over brains.

Staring down this giant, Karin felt a tremor of fear rise along her throat. Ishida and Orihime were nearby, certainly ready to interfere at any moment, but they didn't seem to be in any rush to do so. Karin gulped, squashing down any feelings of dread, and stepped towards the monstrosity when, unexpectedly, she felt a third _reiatsu_…

"Back off, girl! That one's mine!" A cocky, condescending and very unfamiliar voice came out of nowhere and froze her to the spot.

She looked up and saw the owner of the spiritual pressure, the Shinigami, standing on a rooftop. _Him again?_

Confused, Karin watched the Shinigami leap between her and the Hollow.

"I said, back away! I've let you fight a couple of loser Hollows already but not today, girlie."

This close to the man, Karin wondered how she could have mistaken him for her brother. He couldn't have been more different. Was he actually a real Shinigami?

"You…you're not Ichigo…"

* * *

Elsewhere, below the Urahara Shop:

"Still blowing up boulders, Sado-san? You know, I can't understand how this exercise helps you or your friends. Not with Hollow numbers increasing as they are. You need to get out more."

The part-Mexican, part-Japanese, all hulking badass high school student grabbed a towel to wipe away a grueling day's sweat. "Haven't I already explained it to you, Urahara-san? I don't want to hurt _any_ people during my training. Until I'm done, I'm a threat to those I would protect."

"I never said you had not explained it," the shop owner covered half his face with a fan, "only that I never understood why you chose this…unorthodox method. Training is worthless without battle experience. You'd be better off finding a girlfriend, like I always say."

Yasutora grunted. "It's simple," he explained, ignoring Urahara's jibe. "I realized my source of strength is wanting to protect others—I'd be a hypocrite if I to kill as many adversaries as possible, the way Renji does. Ichigo already demonstrated the mistake of Renji's choice. I will not lose my soul in exchange for victory, Urahara-san, and _that_ will make all the difference." Yasutora rubbed his throat; he was not accustomed to speeches.

"How does that equate to punching rocks?" Urahara threw up his arms, and then regarded Yasutora intently. "Whatever you say, no one will be saved by you if you crack your knuckles on boulders all the time. Real, practical mental strength comes from life-threatening situations."

"Mental strength?" Yasutora raised an eyebrow, his muscles flexing unconsciously. "I already have more than enough of that. What I truly lack—what Ichigo lacked—is fortitude, and that is what I learned in this room."

"Really?" Urahara-san asked, puzzled. "Weren't you were obsessed with strength? Didn't you tell me before that you needed more power if you were to defeat our new enemy?"

"That was what I believed, but now it seems useless without strength of character. A pure-hearted focus on a noble goal, I should say, will push me above and beyond," Yasutora clarified. He cleared his throat—talking at length was unpleasant. "I was inspired by the way Ichigo rescued Rukia-san in Soul Society."

Urahara snorted and broke out into a quick laugh.

"Ah, I suppose it isn't _that_ funny, but even you must be able to appreciate the irony," Urahara-san giggled. "It is true, after all, that Ichigo grew rapidly then. But what matters," his eyes narrowed, "is whether your training has borne fruit. Has it?"

Yasutora breathed calmly. "See for yourself," he replied and pointed to a big rock. It was the only boulder left in the room.

Urahara-san didn't comprehend immediately. "What? Can you shoot lasers out of your finger now?"

"Witness."

Yasutora walked over to the rock, acutely aware of Urahara-san scrutinizing his actions. Yasutora's arms did not transform. He stopped in front of the slab of stone. His body went still. His pulse slowed. His breathing stopped and time froze. Then, with surprising alacrity, Yasutora punched the rock with enough force to level a mountain.

Unprepared, Urahara-san rushed to cover his ears and brace himself for the blast…but the expected explosion never deafened him. The normally-composed Urahara-san was bewildered: the boulder appeared entirely intact.

"That's it?" he eventually said, disappointed. "Two years of blowing up rocks and now you can't even do that much, Sado-san?"

"No," Yasutora shook his head. "Witness."

With the gentlest of motions, Yasutora touched the stone and, to Urahara-san's amazement, the boulder disintegrated upon contact.

"I have complete control of my power now; I no longer need to change the shape of my limbs," he declared to Urahara-san. "The process of mastered this skill in the city would have destroyed Karakura several times over."

"Impressive," Urahara-san complimented indifferently. "But, can you do that in the middle of a fight? You must not know, being cooped down here, but there are alarming reports of an invisible, impossibly strong Hollow. Your training could not have finished at a better time, Sado-san."

Yasutora's brows creased. "How could such a Hollow escape Ishida _and_ Renji both? The strongest Hollows flaunt their powers like beacons to people like us." Yasutora's face darkened. "The Hollow couldn't be, not this soon…"

Urahara chuckled dryly. "Who can say who this mysterious Hollow is? Myself, I have my own suspicions and doubt it is our old friend," he confided and added, "But, regardless of the Hollow's identity, people are dying. We need you, Sado-san. All signs indicate the most powerful Hollow of all will arrive…if he hasn't already."

Yasutora's fist clenched and his shoulders stiffened.

"Yes, well, I do need more of battle experience and I can start with this supposedly 'impossibly strong' Hollow. Even if killing it will make me a hypocrite."

Urahara laughed mirthlessly, as if Yasutora said a joke. If only he had.

* * *

For a minute, Karin stared at the spot where the massive Hollow had been, at a loss to explain how the strange Shinigami had defeated the monster so soundlessly, so effortlessly. She recalled how the man scowled when she said her brother's name.

"Ichigo?!" he had snarled in a tone dripping with derision and scorn. "'Course I ain't that useless coward Ichigo! The hell would you dare suggest that for?!"

And then, as if fuelled by her brother's name, he went on a rampage. He whipped out a sword, said something about a banzai (or whatever) and, before Karin could be offended by his face, something massive appeared around the Shinigami. While Karin tried to figure out what the hell that giant thing was, the fight had finished in a sickeningly fast blur of movement. The stranger had won; it seemed he could control that giant creature, monster, whatever.

As easily as he split the enemy in two, he tore Karin's emotions apart. Should she feel disappointed that the stranger wasn't Ichigo or should she be awed by his skill? Certainly, his resounding victory had been humbling to watch; yet again, Karin had been belittled. Was she really so weak or were the people around her just stupidly strong? She suspected the latter.

More to the point, what was this man's connection to Ichigo? Another piece in the puzzle stood before her. An _angry_ puzzle piece, one that unnerved Karin and he did nothing to illuminate the larger picture for her. Why was he so pissed? Eventually, she removed her jaw from the ground and remembered that he had insulted Ichigo. And that made Karin cross. Very cross.

"Hey!" she shouted at him, a vein on her forehead close to bursting. "My brother may be stupid, inattentive, dumb, secretive, moronic and dense, but he is _not_ a coward!" Karin defended him as kindly as she could.

The Shinigami appeared surprised by the outburst. "Brother? Ah," he nodded to himself, sounding cocky, "the sister. I should have known. So _that's_ why those losers follow you like a pair of drooling, lovesick puppies," he laughed abruptly and stopped laughing just as suddenly. "Don't worry. It's your beloved brother that I despise, not them or you. Tell me, how does it feel to have the same blood as a monster?"

Her blood, it so happened, boiled over. "What's your problem?!" she growled.

His eyes widened. "You mean you don't know?" A taunting, humorless smirk appeared—he was arrogant to boot. "Oh, of course. You must think your brother's a saint."

"I know he isn't perfect," Karin replied slowly, "I mean, he suddenly left around two years ago, but I never knew anyone else more obsessed with saving people…" She frowned and stopped. What was this pest getting at?

The Shinigami's smirk grew obnoxiously wide, although it never reached his dark eyes. "Your brother has never really cared about protecting people, you should know. He was and still _is_ a battle-crazed maniac, desiring only blood and destruction." He stopped smirking. "You, of all people, should know this for your own good," he said gravely, dropping his brash, condescending tone.

Okay, Karin had put up with enough. "What do you know about Ichigo?! I've never seen you before!" Well, she had seen the Shinigami twice before, but that didn't count.

He tilted his head sideways. Mister Cocky was back in full swing. "What do _you_ know about Ichigo? When was the last time you saw him, huh?"

"Ah, I…" Karin didn't know what to say. His remark hit much too close to home.

So she glared at him to compensate for her lack of a comeback. His obvious hatred for Ichigo made the Shinigami instantly bad by her reckoning, and it seemed the feeling was mutual. Jerk.

"Can't think of anything to say?" he taunted knowingly.

Man, how could she have confused this guy for Ichigo? They had similar builds, sure, but that was where their similarities ended. This creep had long, red hair and a face that might have been handsome once (Karin doubted it), when it hadn't been disfigured by a startling number of scars. Perhaps the tattoos above his eyebrows and the headband were supposed to hide the scars. If so, it wasn't working.

"Hey, ugly," Karin hissed, angrier than ever, "did your mother give you those scars or did you never learn how to use a razor?"

"Ugly?!" he bristled, fingering a particularly large scar. "Wait, wait, wait," he held up his hands, stunned, "do you actually mean to fight _me_? You saw what I can do. Even an amateur like you should know it wouldn't be close to a close match between us!"

Karin didn't back off in the slightest. His sword remained drawn, and it seemed he was inviting her to a physical contest, but she knew this wouldn't come to blows. Not with Ishida and Orihime watching her back. This was a battle of wills—therefore, she could win.

"So?" She put contempt into the word and took up a fighting stance. "I don't care if you don't stand a chance against me."

The man choked on his own breath, disbelieving her audacity. He looked around, momentarily lost for words, and then his empty smirk returned in full force. "Ah, I understand…"

"What"

He nudged his head slightly, gesturing to the _reiatsu_ behind Karin. "It's them." Ishida and Orihime. "You know they'll keep you safe," he named her boast for the bluff it was.

But Karin cocked her head, matching his arrogance. "What difference do they make? I don't need them or want them to stop me from kicking your ass."

The Shinigami blinked. Then, unexpectedly, he began barking. Or Karin had thought he was barking at first; after a while, she realized he was laughing. At her, most like. Listening to him, she noticed the oddest quality in his laughter (aside from him sounding like a dog); it was if he was remembering how to laugh.

Karin suddenly tired of this battle of wills. The Shinigami irritated her so much she hadn't caught on to the fact that he was an information goldmine. Forgetting his stupid laughter, it was clear that the Shinigami _did_ know Ichigo. Although she would rather interrogate someone trustworthy, Karin could put up with almost any bullshit to obtain the truth; if that meant entertaining this putz, so be it. She needed her family restored to order.

Busy preparing herself for the humiliating task of asking him about the truth, Karin failed to register the end of his barking.

"You know what, kid," he said almost kindly, she could have sworn, "if you weren't so obviously related to your brother, I think I'd like you." His scar-marked brow furrowed. "But you _are_ his sister."

In the distance, Karin felt the presence of Hollows. God, since when had there been so many? How did she encounter them so seldom? Ishida and Orihime had to be swamped with work.

"I need to leave." He turned his back on her. "You know, some massively strong Hollow is out there. Don't look for it, girlie. I've claimed the honor of slaying it, and I won't be happy if you die before we have a chance to settle things."

Too bewildered by his sudden change of heart towards her, Karin barely opened her mouth to demand answers from him when he promptly departed. An instant later, two familiar faces were right next to her, looking worried.

"Are you all right?" Orihime asked immediately.

"Yes, I'm quite fine," Karin brushed the older woman's concerns away. "Who was that?"

Ishida and Orihime exchanged glances. Karin felt a twinge of annoyance—they were debating whether or not to hide facts from her again.

"His name is Renji Abarai," Ishida answered. His scowl would have shamed Ichigo. "He…is not a very pleasant person."

"Obviously not," Karin rolled her eyes. Talk about understatement! "Well, why does he act like a stick's shoved up his ass?"

Orihime winced. "Kurosaki-kun, your brother, he, uh…did something that really upset Renji."

"_You must think your brother's a saint."_

Confirmation. Karin's heart sank. _So, that man wasn't lying about…about what? _Her brother was not some bloodthirsty maniac, whatever Renji suggested; he might believe Ichigo had wronged him—and maybe Ichigo had—but that man did not know her brother as well as Karin. _However, if he knows something I don't…_She needed more answers.

"What did Ichigo do? And what's this I hear about some powerful Hollow?"

Again, they looked at each other. Rather than being angry this time, Karin sighed. She wasn't going to get anywhere with them. And, after all they'd done for her and Yuzu, they deserved a break. Because Karin was grateful, no matter what Yuzu said.

She dismissed them with the wave of a hand. "You know what, forget it. I can tell that you've zipped your mouths shut, even if it'll kill me." On the other hand, she could be grateful and try to guilt them simultaneously. "Anyways, that Renji guy's wrong, whatever he thinks."

Their faces went blank and were unreadable.

Orihime opened her mouth and grimaced. "Ah, okay," she mumbled. Slowly, she smiled. "You should go home, Karin-chan! Your sister told me you have a lot of homework. She sounded pretty worried about you a few days ago."

Karin's eyes widened. _Yuzu._ She still cared about Karin, even if she didn't show it. _But I can't apologize, not until she does first! _

Ishida pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Want me to tutor you? Studying is my specialty."

Karin gagged. "Yuck, hell no!"

Declining his offer, she left them. Fatigue was settling in; seriously, she needed to sleep. Rest had eluded Karin ever since her spat with Yuzu, and she wouldn't unearth any clues if she keeled over. Fortunately, she had more motivation than ever to succeed; she would prove to Renji that her brother was—no, is!—a good guy (if not a "saint"), and she would pass her dumb tests without Ishida's help!


	6. VI

Slightly late (a few hours) due to a busy schedule. Also, this chapter, in particular, had some scenes in strong need of rewriting, and that takes time. I hope the extra efforts paid off, readers.

* * *

VI

* * *

The heat wave burned with newfound strength to herald July. With nary a drop of rain in weeks, Karakura was quickly transforming into a desert; the grass had browned and new layers of dust, brought in by warm winds, covered the streets every day. Moreover, dead bodies were discovered with disturbing regularity. People were panicking and with good reason, Yasutora thought. Even in Mexico City, it had never been this hot, nor had the streets felt so dangerous. Could this unprecedented weather be related to the sudden surge of Hollows? In any case, Yasutora could do something about the latter problems.

On the large, steel bridge over the river, Yasutora stretched calmly, ignoring the especially hairy demon on the other side of the bridge. Unfortunate, really, but it couldn't be the mysterious Hollow that Urahara spoke of. Not strong enough. Perhaps angered by Yasutora's nonchalance, the hairy Hollow spat and hissed like a rabid dog. Honestly, Yasutora worried more over pulling a muscle than being hurt by this weakling. So he stretched—this was his first fight since the madness in Hueco Mundo, and he would do it _right_.

Streetlights and a sliver of moonlight shone on the bridge's steel plates; a fitting place to test his strength. Yasutora breathed in and out, his stretching complete. Yet still, he did not attack the Hollow. His body was a coiled spring, full of energy demanding release, but he would wait for the Hollow to strike first, even if it took all night.

Yasutora's powers were Hollow-based, he knew. When his right arm first transformed, he hadn't been aware. But in Hueco Mundo, when his left arm changed, it became obvious that a Diablo dwelled inside him. Later, the inevitable consequences of such powers were revealed to Yasutora, and he couldn't help but be repelled. For months and months, he had trained in Urahara-san's basement to suppress his powers, to find a way to avoid being consumed by hate.

Eventually, Yasutora realized his soul was a bridge between the humane and the unhallowed. Having crossed the boundary, he could not purify himself. Not without losing his means to protect his friends. The strength he needed, it seemed, was only obtainable through accepting his Hollow within. Thus his personal dilemma: evolve and become what he fought against, or retain his humanity and die. Neither answer satisfied him and so he sought a third option.

The Hollow screamed and ran on all fours across the steel bridge to attack Yasutora. Without the slightest hint of trepidation, Yasutora remained perfectly still; he did not so much as flinch with the Hollow's claws a hairsbreadth away from his face.

The answer to his inner conflict was so obvious it had stunned him once he finally understood. So obvious he wondered why it had taken him so long to figure it out.

His body unwound in a flash and his fist crushed the Hollow's face. The hairy thing froze for a few seconds, its face no longer capable of snarling, and then disintegrated into dust.

Really, all Yasutora had to do was stay on the bridge separating man from Hollow.

* * *

In a wonderful twist, Ishida and Inoue-san were enjoying a rare day off. And how did they take advantage of this pleasant opportunity? By indulging in the Karakura High's sewing club and catching up on their arts and crafts, of course.

Yet Inoue-san groaned, evidently fatigued. Several grueling weeks had passed since the near clash with Renji. Now Inoue-san was nearly too tired to work the needle and thread. Another reminder to Ishida that he wasn't the only one working overtime. Luckily, the evening was late and the other club members had left—ergo, they could talk freely.

"Is it just me, Ishida-kun, or have Hollows been popping up way too often these days?" she complained, tending to a bruise on her left arm. If only Ishida had been quicker yesterday…Alas, her stupendous powers did not work on herself. "There's been so many we can't even search for the Hollow that murdered that priest!"

"We'll find it, I swear," Ishida promised, disregarding his own doubts. "And yes," he continued, frowning, "it's not you, Inoue-san. Hollows should _not_ attack in so many numbers. They're stronger than they should be, too," he grimaced.

"But _why_ are they multiplying?"

"That I cannot answer, although I have my suspicions."

"Your ideas are always so smart, Ishida-kun! What do you think, huh?"

Did she have to say that so earnestly? A man's cool, dignified countenance could only take so much praise before collapsing.

Anyways, Ishida's theories were far from cheerful. "A lot of people died in the Winter War," he explained, "I think we might now be facing the ramifications of that widespread slaughter. Perhaps those lost in the Winter War possessed more hatred than usual, because of the circumstances, and they're stronger, as a result."

"Oh, that's sad." Inoue-san said, looking pained. From what Ishida had gathered, her own brother had returned as a Hollow. "I wonder how many others families are suffering like mine did…"

She looked so dejected that Ishida dearly wished to hold her hand. Unfortunately, his next words were most melancholic.

"Or," he added, "it may be that powerful Hollows had existed for millennia in Hueco Mundo, and only recently were driven out by _something_ worse. Although, if my guesses are correct about this mysterious Hollow with a sword, and that Hollow is the cause of our mess, then I can't say why Hollows continue to appear so frequently…"

Ishida trailed off, overwhelmed by Inoue-san's silence. She must have understood his implications about who this powerful Hollow was; this topic was taboo and avoided for a reason. He waited for her to contradict him, as she often had, but she said nothing. Why was her speechlessness so much more terrifying than her shouts?

Feeling uncomfortable, Ishida cleared his throat. "Well, whatever the reason for the Hollows, the consequences belong to those who remain. It sucks to be us, I mean."

"Yes," Inoue-san nodded glumly. "That's why I'm so glad Sado-san's fighting Hollows now, too! For one day, at least, we can relax. Heh heh!" She brightened considerably, thankfully.

"Indeed. I'm grateful he came to talk to us after class the other day, unlike _someone_ else we know." Ishida sneered. "Yet, even though we're sewing, I find it impossible to relax. Just last night, so many Hollows appeared that I still can't figure out how we saved Yuzu."

Inoue-san sighed and rubbed her bruise again, "That one was too close," she agreed.

"It certainly justified our nights of missed studying. Not that my father is going to forgive me if I fail to make Tokyo University."

"But you're still top of the class, Ishida-kun! I don't know how you do it. I've fallen out of the top ten and am barely staying in the top twenty."

Ishida put a hand on her shoulder, snatching a chance to comfort her. "It's only because my father is a slave driver. You're really talented to still get the marks you do, Inoue-san! I mean, Sado-san has fallen out of the top fifty…"

"He must have been training all this time. I can't believe how strong he is…Like, he can do more than the two of us together!"

"I know," groaned Ishida. "It's depressing to think about it."

They hung their heads in shared shame.

"You know," Ishida went on, "we won't have many more breaks at the rate Hollows are appearing. We _need_ to catch that one Hollow or risk failing to make a good university!"

"I'm worried that all of us working together won't be enough to catch that Hollow." Orihime fidgeted in her seat. "Um…Ishida-kun?"

Ishida perked up. "Yes?"

"I'm glad that you'll be with me to the very end."

Seriously, how was he supposed to retain his dignity? Thus, he broke down and smiled warmly.

* * *

At last! Karin left the school and punched the air in celebration—exams were finally over! Furthermore, she was certain she had passed so goodbye, summer school. Those agonizing afternoons she had endured, locked in a room and forced to study endlessly, were no more. Well, for a month, at least, she was free and she was going to enjoy walking home.

God, Karin was relieved to finally rid herself of a problem. She risked peeking at Yuzu; unfortunately, Yuzu still hadn't seen the error of her ways. What did Karin have to do to get a well-deserved apology out of her? Karin had even thanked her twin for the—albeit harsh—tutorial sessions. Geez.

Most of her sources of anxiety were far from gone, yes. Karin had mulled over Renji's words about Ichigo and the only explanations she could imagine were grim at best. In the end, Renji being mistaken seemed the only viable conclusion to Karin. However, she hadn't glimpsed Renji, Ishida, or Orihime since that night in June, way before exams. Neither had she seen Chad, even though she lingered around Urahara Shop whenever she could. Bah, they were probably all avoiding her!

_No, no, don't think about that! Think happy thoughts!_ She told herself. _You defeated the academic bullshit, Karin. You will enjoy this walk with Yuzu, even if it is ridiculously hot outside, even if Hollows have multiplied like cockroaches and you still couldn't fight any of them, even if…Argh!_ Come on, surely something pleasant could distract her!

What day was it again? The thirteenth of July. Only two more days until her brother's birthday. Suddenly, Karin smiled. She knew the _perfect _birthday present for her brother: being back home with his family.

As it turned out, the rest of her walk was a delight.

* * *

On the night of the fourteenth, Renji jumped from rooftop to rooftop, scrutinizing the streets around him. His patrols around Karakura had intensified, but he had yet to encounter the mysterious Hollow. Blood slid down his cheek from yet another cut on his face; the newest entry to the collection. His breathing came out in rasps—he was overworking himself. But he would die before he stopped. He leaped onto another building. That one Hollow, whoever it was, wasn't getting away tonight! The stronger the Hollow, the more Renji wanted to kill it. Until he killed the man he hated above all else, he was insatiable.

A voice inside Renji whispered to him that he desired no butchery, that hunting Hollows night after night would never alleviate his pain. Stubbornly, he squashed the thought down and prepared himself for the task ahead. The chance he had waited two years for inched closer by the day.

The Hollows were getting stronger, yes? How much stronger could they get before the strongest arrived? Yes, only a little more time and patience would reward him. The man Renji despised most would show up—soon. Renji could rest later. Not long now and Renji would fulfill the oath he had sworn to his soul.

* * *

Somehow, "Ichigo's" birthday party this year surpassed last year's celebration as the worst ever. Perhaps because Karin's bold plan to bring back the real Ichigo had gone nowhere, she was doubly sour. If she didn't get out of the room soon, she would go insane.

"Come on, Onii-chan! Eat the cake!"

Kon looked at the massive castle-shaped cake, stunned, but drooled in spite of himself. "Ah, yes. Thank you very much, Yuzu-chan." He took a timid bite.

Small wonder Kon wasn't his usual piggy self. He_ knew_ he was eating Ichigo's cake! But Karin was relieved to see the mod soul could, at the very least, feel guilt. It made him seem more human.

Also, Dad wasn't being his normal abnormal self. He seemed distracted and kept glancing outside. His cheeks had sunken and large bags drooped under his eyes. Work had taken its toll on him.

"What's up, Dad?" Karin asked, partly to get her mind away from Kon and Yuzu.

"Huh?" he blinked. "Just thinking…ah, never mind!" Dad put on a grin; it lacked exuberance. "Hey, you going to join this party or what?"

"No," she bluntly replied.

"Karin!" Yuzu stared at her in shock. "It's Onii-chan's _birthday_ today!"

Karin shrugged listlessly, much too aware that their actual brother wasn't here. Her family life was mired in despair. She _had_ to get out soon.

"Girls, don't fight," Dad broke in, sounding as tired as he appeared. "Yuzu, you can't force your sister to have a good time." He glanced out the window again. "Besides, I don't think I'll join in, myself. Should get back to the clinic…"

Both Karin and Yuzu did a double-take as Dad walked out of the room and away from a party. Karin could not recall Dad ever missing a chance to freak out. What was wrong with him?!

"I can't believe it…" Yuzu whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.

"He'll need help," Kon promptly said and left the majestic cake behind to don his pink scrubs.

"B-But…" Yuzu stuttered helplessly.

"I forgot, but I promised a friend I'd visit him today," Karin lied and stood to leave. With Kon and Dad gone, now was her greatest chance to escape.

Scandalized, Yuzu watched Karin go to the door. "Karin," Yuzu halted her.

"What?" Karin retorted while slipping her shoes on. "Don't even dare to think you can stop me, Yuzu!"

Her sister hesitated. "Be careful. Aren't there a lot of those…those Hollows out there? It's not safe, right?"

Karin slammed the door.

* * *

A grin nearly cracked the mask of the Hollow with a sword. There the girl was. Alone. This was too funny! It spent ages thirsting for her blood and couldn't touch her because she was constantly guarded. And now that the Hollow was strong enough to challenge the Shinigami and the other two, she appeared alone!

But the Hollow with a sword didn't laugh at its good fortune; instead, it followed the girl and worked up its appetite. This meal was going to be delicious.

* * *

At the Urahara Shop, Kisuke looked at his high-tech, super awesome Hollow detector in alarm. Oh, he did not like what he saw. Abruptly, the detector shorted out and smoke leaked out its sides. He _really_ didn't like what he saw.

"Do you even need that thing?" Something soft and warm brushed his leg as a deep voice spoke to him. "Even the weakest Shinigami could tell you that a stupid amount of Hollows are attacking Karakura right now."

Kisuke looked down at his favorite black pussycat and rolled his eyes.

"Yoruichi, if no one used my own inventions, what would be the point of making of them?" he asked, shaking his head incredulously.

The cat growled, "Then why don't you make _useful_ things?!"

"You never have understood the deeper idiosyncrasies of science," Kisuke sighed and chucked his failed experiment into the trash.

The cat jumped onto Kisuke's counter and stared at him dead in the eyes.

"More importantly, Kisuke, what are you going to do about _them_?" The cat nodded in the Hollows' direction.

"Oh, nothing, I expect."

"Nothing? What kind of man are you?"

He put his arms up defensively. "Well, Ishida-san and Sado-san can surely take care of the Hollows! I think we have bigger problems to worry over, Yoruichi. A few of my past mistakes have been neglected for too long."

Abruptly, the cat sat on her haunches. "So, you think it will happen tonight? Is this why so many Hollows are out there? Because he's returning to Karakura?"

Kisuke smiled out of habit.

"Yes. Now get ready."

* * *

Isshin looked at the large lineup of patients and sighed. Another long night ahead. This certainly excused him from the sham of a birthday party, but it wasn't worth it. Not when untold people were dying.

A teenage boy, not much younger than Isshin's own son, was gushing blood onto the tiled floor. A horrible gash on the arm, it appeared, was the source. Isshin hustled to the operating room with the boy. Seemed he never left the room these days. Not a surprise, really, under the circumstances; outside, the presence of countless Hollows bludgeoned his spiritual senses, sending shivers down his spine. How many more people would stumble into his humble clinic tomorrow? Well, to be honest, Isshin worried more about those who would never walk again, except to step into Soul Society.

For a moment, Isshin wondered how many souls wouldn't need a doctor if he was fighting out there. His skill with the scalpel had never matched his skill with the sword. That always irked Isshin, that he was better-suited for killing. That always tormented him—Masaki would still live if he hadn't thrown aside his blade.

He ground his teeth and focused on patching up this kid. Time enough for regrets in hell. Here and now, Isshin was content so long as he saved lives and kept his babies safe. Priorities: Isshin had them and nothing would distract him.

A small knock on the door distracted him.

He swore loudly. "Ah, sorry," he apologized to the injured teenager in embarrassment; the kid merely moaned in agony. "What?" he grumbled, answering the door. "You all know I don't like to be interrupted unless it's something important…"

"I'm sorry, Dad!" Yuzu burst in anxiously. She noticed the patient with the torn arm and squeaked. She lowered her voice to a whisper, "It's Karin. I couldn't stop her from leaving, but I thought maybe you could do something…"

Isshin's eyes widened. "You mean she's gone? Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Karin was out there with all of those Hollows? Not again!

His poor daughter squirmed. "You were busy, you now…What are you going to do? I'm worried…"

He slapped a palm to his forehead. What was he going to do, indeed? That kid groaned in pain again, and who knew how many more like him were in his waiting room. How many more would come before dawn arrived?

And so Isshin made his choice and hated it. Priorities, ha! However, there was only one option for Isshin, but damn him if neither choice was fair. If only he could forget that he was better at killing than healing.

* * *

Karin walked away from the Urahara Shop, dejected. She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up; of course, Chad wasn't there. When had she ever seen him there, anyways? Never.

That uneasy feeling of being watched came upon her. Where were Orihime and Ishida? For once, Karin didn't detect their _reiatsu. _And, sensing an obscene number of Hollows in the distance, it came to her that this evening might not be the best for a strolling alone. Where were those two?

Hmph. Karin could take care of herself in a fight, and she would not succumb to paranoia. To make a point, she resisted the urge to break into a run and _calmly_ left the alleyway. Not because she was scared, dammit.

Still, it sure felt foolish now to ditch home. Why, she could have been eating cake, smacking Dad around and glaring at Kon. She could have been patching things up with Yuzu, instead of slamming a door in her face and making matters worse.

But oh no, she couldn't enjoy the afternoon with them and the fake. She'd walked right into this one.

"Argh! Where are those two?!"

Karin trekked through Karakura, feeling increasingly agitated. Why weren't Hollows attacking her? She was used to not encountering them, yeah, but it made her uneasy knowing Ishida and Orihime weren't in the shadows. If they weren't around, how come no Hollows approached her? She hastened her pace. Seriously, she could sense Hollows in all directions! What kept them away? Where were Ishida and Orihime?!

Something primal shrieked in the distance.

She was running, Karin realized. She forced herself to stop and breathe whilst passing through her favorite soccer field. It would calm her if a Hollow attacked. All her nerves vanished once she began fighting, she knew. Come on, why couldn't she shake that feeling of being watched?!

_Where're Orihime and Ishida?!_

* * *

In the residential sector of Karakura, Ishida and Inoue-san battled against a multitude of Hollows.

"Where did they all come from?" Ishida wondered, shooting arrows indiscriminately. "This is absurd!"

Pressed against his back, Inoue-san maintained the shield around them. "We need to get to Karin and Yuzu! They're unprotected!"

Three Hollows converged on them, but two fell to Ishida's arrows in an instant. Inoue-san swatted the third down in the nick of time.

Ishida eyed the endless Hollows surrounding them and muttered, "I know we need to get to them, but we need to get out of this mess first. We're no help to anyone if we die!"

Inoue-san turned to glare at him and he shrugged. He'd only said the simple truth.

"You're right," she nodded finally, cooling down. She focused her anger on the Hollows instead. "But I say we finish them off as soon as possible!"

That they should hurry went without saying. However, judging by the sheer number of enemies, they weren't going anywhere soon.

* * *

The slender Hollow licked black blood off its sword. Killing its brethren was never as satisfying as murdering the innocent. But the Hollow with a sword had no mercy for _anything_ that got between it and its prey. Besides, the Hollow gained strength from devouring souls of any sort.

But enough of that! The Hollow with a sword had destroyed nearly all of its competition also vying for the girl. The slender Hollow supposed the rest of its kind, those it hadn't killed, had run off.

Oh, but the Hollow with a sword couldn't think lucidly. Nearby, she stood by herself and had no idea of its existence. Ha, that park would be a suitable grave for her! Now, time to eat!

As the Hollow sped towards Karin Kurosaki, it never considered that someone stronger might be lurking in the neighbourhood.

* * *

"Watch out, Ichigo's little sister!"

Only the sudden warning and lightning reflexes allowed Karin to roll to the side in time. The sound of air being sliced whistled where her neck had been a second ago. Her body racing with adrenaline, Karin came to her feet and looked at her attacker. A Hollow with a sword, of all things! Its ivory-white mask was twisted in disbelief at its failure to kill. Also, it—no, she should say "he"—was more humanoid and slimmer than any Hollow she'd seen before. He wore clothes, too, though only a striped tie was recognizable among his grey and white rags.

Her pulse calmed and she panted. Something _had_ been after her! But, more importantly, someone had saved Karin. Again. Regardless, why hadn't she sensed the Hollow or her rescuer?

The Hollow with a sword allowed her no time to think further. After his first slash missed, he spun and lunged at her again before Karin could blink.

Only, this time, someone got between the two and stopped the Hollow in his tracks with a solid punch.

Karin recognized the newcomer. She knew who he was as soon as he warned her. _His timing could have been a lot better, yeah, but I think I can forgive him today_.

Facing the Hollow, her rescuer spoke to Karin, "No need to worry." He threw her a thumbs-up over his shoulder. "I've got this one."

Karin's jaw dropped. _Oh my god, he's still a huge dork!_


	7. VII

Fun fact: This chapter was the first that I wrote. Except it was for a completely different fic back when I began it, and now it's hardly recognizable from the initial draft.

* * *

VII

* * *

Finally, Karin had cornered Chad. If he wouldn't give her some answers about Ichigo, no one would. Still pissed her off that he'd been so elusive. And it really peeved her that she needed to overcome a life or death situation before she could question him. Go figure.

The Hollow with a sword circled around them like a vulture, keeping a wary distance from Chad. Was her brother's friend that strong? Karin couldn't tell—her spiritual senses didn't detect Chad, even with him right in front of her. Something about him was seriously different since she last saw him fight,.

"Chad, your arm?" He had fought with a freakishly huge right arm last time. "Can't you make it bigger or something? I don't think we should mess around with this guy. Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"I don't need to transform my arms or my legs anymore," he replied, concentrating on the Hollow. "I'm stronger if I fight as I am now."

"Really?" Karin doubted it.

"Yes. In a way, my limbs _are_ different right now. You just can't see the changes."

He'd better be telling the truth or else Karin would haunt him in the afterlife. The Hollow, meanwhile, reminded the two that he was still there by shrieking in Pig Latin. What a nuisance!

"You going to attack him or what?" Karin asked, glaring at the Hollow. "Why hesitate?"

A long silence followed, and Karin thought Chad was going to stare at the Hollow all night. At last, he murmured, "I know that Hollow."

Karin gaped. "You _what_?!"

"Yes," he nodded gravely. "His name is Shinji Hirako. He's my friend, or was briefly. He saved my life."

Shocked, Karin gave the Hollow with a sword, Shinji Hirako, a second appraisal. Come to think of it, his ragged garb sort of resembled Ichigo's school uniform. But it was hard to imagine that feral monster in a school.

"Whether he was your friend before or not," Karin growled, "I think we can safely say he _isn't_ anymore. So, Chad?" she gestured at Hirako.

"Hmm?"

"Well, are you going to attack him or what?! I don't know about you, but I don't socialize with lunatics out to kill me!"

Chad grunted, but still didn't budge. Hirako continued his circuits around them, slowly inching closer. He and Chad were locked in an epic scowling match of deadly proportions, and Karin wondered if they had forgotten her.

"Oh, for God's sake!" Karin cursed, throwing her hands up.

And she rushed the Hollow herself, taking the offensive. Her foot smacked into the side of Hirako's mask and she felt ivory crack as the Hollow went flying. Damn, his mask was harder than a concrete wall! Her foot would be bruised or worse.

Chad was staring at her, lost for words, she realized; so was Hirako, after the Hollow stood up. Well, come on! She wasn't going to do nothing while they both ignored her.

Besides, Karin handled life and death situations pretty nicely these days. She wasn't no eleven-year-old nobody anymore. Her breasts were even growing, much to her dumb father's horror. Ah, but her womanly developments were unimportant at the moment. Got to take care of the big bad ghost first.

"Are you insane?" Chad whispered, his body quaking. "Do you have any idea how strong he is? If you don't stay behind me, you could die."

Karin whipped around to face him, ignoring how tender her foot felt. "In my situation, would you want to hide behind someone else?" she snorted and he recoiled: Bullseye. "I didn't think so."

He regarded her in exasperation. "I don't mean to condescend, believe me, but you're standing on one foot."

Her foot throbbed, punctuating his point. She scowled at Chad.

"Fine," he gave in. "But," he added, "don't do anything sudden again. You were _very_ lucky before."

"All right," she smiled, accepting his conditions. She knew Chad would be a pushover! "Now let's kick your old pal's ass _together_."

Speaking of the Hollow, he was incredibly pissed. In fact, Hirako literally emitted black smoke from his pores as he shook in fury. Blood leaked from the crack in his mask. His _reiatsu_, invisible before, skyrocketed well beyond Karin's own. His slender frame widened into something muscular and intimidating. How much had Hirako been holding back, seriously?

"Okay, I can't do a whole lot here," Karin admitted through clenched teeth. Saying the truth hurt far worse than her aching foot. "You do the grunt work and I'll provide support if I can."

Chad's following silence screamed volumes at Karin and her cheeks colored. Moving along! Hirako stood no chance against the Karin-Chad combo! She was ready.

Or not. Faster than Karin's eyes could follow, Hirako charged and his mask was in her face in a blink. Before she could react, Chad swung a heavy left hook at the Hollow. Hirako leapt back and Chad pursued. The Hollow slashed at Chad, missed, and the two exchanged a rapid series of blows. For a time, each would evade just in time while launching a counterstrike of his own. Their attacks sped up, their bodies blurred, and the exchanges proceeded until an explosion rocked the park. Hirako howled as Chad's fist hammered into his stomach; the Hollow slammed into the ground and skidded all the way to Karin's feet.

So maybe Karin doubted Chad needed any help. Well, he obviously didn't—he made this look easy. Grudgingly, Karin thought to herself that he looked pretty cool out there. Still, did he have to make her feel so useless?

Wanting to play a part, too, Karin kicked Hirako, ignoring the lancing pain in her foot, and sent him right back to Chad. The Mexican closed his eyes and put all his weight into a simple, but devastating, right straight. Hirako's mask shattered and a decision was reached: TKO. The victors: the Red Flame of Karakura and her dimwitted sidekick, Chad.

She pumped her fist in victory, caught up in the moment. Then she saw Chad and her desire to celebrate withered away. On the ground, Shinji Hirako's face was visible for the first time. Hirako's body returned to normal and he appeared content, but Chad seemed tormented enough to shed a tear.

"So your conscience truly was gone—you refused to return as yourself," Chad said quietly, watching the remains of Hirako fade away. Blood trickled from small nicks all over Chad; so he hadn't won unscathed. "I hope you find her, wherever you go now." Chad stepped away and Hirako's soul vanished completely.

A warm and strangely humid wind swept through the park as Karin observed Chad's last rites. She wondered about this Shinji Hirako; the man must have been the powerful Hollow Orihime and Renji had warned her of. What had he been like? Who was that girl or woman Chad mentioned? There was too much Karin had been excluded from by Ichigo and his friends.

But enough of Hirako. Change of topic. _Focus, Karin! Remember why you'd sought out Chad!_ To find her brother (plus Rukia, if possible) and solve all of her problems in one fell swoop!

Karin sauntered up to Chad and glared up, up, and way up at him. Okay, she'd grown a lot since she first saw him, but it was impossible to stare down this giant. Not to mention his eyes were hidden beneath a mat of shaggy hair, making it hopeless for Karin to see if his eyes were shaking in fright from the full force of her glowering. It was important to at least try to intimidate him.

"Chad," she took in a deep breath, because she could be louder than him, if not taller. She was sorry about his former friend, but her brother took precedence. "Where are Ichigo and Rukia?! And don't say Ichigo's still going to school, because I know about the fake!"

The ringing of her final piercing syllable disturbed the evening's calm. Karin was satisfied by her volume. Oh, she must have really put Chad on the spot. Heh, he was shaking; his shoulders sagged while the rest of his body jerked repeatedly. Trembling in his boots, was he? No denying it, she had him on the ropes. Ho ho, and he was whimpering now, too, should her ears not deceive her. Wow. She almost felt bad for him. His strangled noises grew louder. Whoa, okay, maybe she didn't _almost _feel sorry for the poor guy; he was winning her over with his sad display of unmanly weeping...

Then Chad exploded into a fit of rich, booming laughter, and Karin hurriedly took back whatever sympathy was building up inside her. In fact, he hadn't been all that cool in the fight.

His laughter did nothing to calm Karin; it reminded her too much of Renji, for one thing, and his chuckles didn't answer her question, for another. She upped the power of her glare to eleven.

Time passed and he settled down, eventually. "You really are his sister," was all he could say, as if that explained his bizarre reaction. It was just like Renji!

How infuriating!

"Where's Ichigo?!" she demanded once more.

No laughter this time. Karin didn't think it possible but, looking at his melancholic expression, she preferred his earlier good spirits.

His brows furrowed in deep thought. A slow, rumbling sigh escaped Chad. "I don't know his whereabouts," he confessed, picking his words carefully. "Your brother departed into the unknown and left us all behind."

Chad didn't know. Was he telling the truth? Karin, recalling Renji's taunting, felt Chad wasn't saying the whole truth. Then again, maybe it was impossible for her to believe him, as doing so would be akin to throwing away all hope of finding Ichigo.

Oh, but she shouldn't forget her other lost friend. "And Rukia? Is she really in Soul Society?" That's what Orihime and Ishida had told her.

He hesitated and answered, "No."

_So Ishida and Orihime _did_ lie about Rukia! Unless Chad is lying…but why would he? _She didn't quite know what to make of this development just yet.

"Then where is she?"

Dead silence. What did _that_ mean?

Karin pressed on with the next set of questions. "What do you mean you don't know, anyways? Aren't you their comrade?! Shouldn't you, of all people, know this? Aren't you one of Ichigo's best friends? I thought you fought by his side! Can't you find him?!"

Chad trembled as she yelled at him, likely in anger this time. Fortunately, he kept himself composed.

"I still consider myself his friend," his voice was strained, "but I can't say the same for him. Really, I haven't seen him in years, Ichigo's little sister," he replied after breathing in and out to calm himself. "If I had a better idea about where he was, you'd likely never have found me."

Of course, Chad wasn't going to say anything meaningful. Deep down, she probably expected as much all along. Actually, upon further thought, she was certain from the beginning that he wouldn't reveal the location of Rukia and Ichigo.

"Will you help me look for them?" Karin suddenly asked.

Ah, so that had been her real purpose. Her own cleverness impressed Karin, at times.

Chad was taken aback. "Look...for them?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, shifting her weight to relax her sore foot. "What do you say? Good idea, huh? I'll be the brains for your brawn. Let's face it, pal, you need someone with a little charm—yours truly, that is—to help you out."

The big guy's shoulders slumped, but he couldn't resist a small smile. "I'd like to but I can't. It's not a good idea. Sorry."

"Huh? Not a good idea?!" Karin was surprised. "Why not? We made a pretty good team earlier!"

He frowned and opened his mouth, closed it, and finally said, "What if it's impossible to find them?"

As if Karin would ever accept that. She'd been desperately trying not to think her quest was hopeless for years already.

"If we don't look, we'll never know for sure."

Chad groaned. Logic for the win! "Okay…you noticed how I fought the entire time without transforming my arms, right? You commented on it."

She nodded.

"Do you understand what that means?" After Karin didn't answer, he continued, "My powers are those of a Hollow's. I managed to avoid changing the appearance of my arms by only accepting the darkness inside me. I don't know how perfect my control is yet. At any given moment, I may go berserk."

Karin listened with her head cocked. This sounded too much like a lesson.

"Basically, what you're saying just means you're really strong, Chad. I'm not afraid of you—I know you can handle yourself," she dismissed Chad's warning with the wave of a hand. "What's the problem? You want to know where Ichigo and Rukia are, too. It's not hard to figure out what we should do—me and you should work together, that's all there is to it. I cover your back for you, making sure you never flip out, and you make sure nothing happens to me. Then we can search all over the city, the country, maybe even Soul Society for my bro! Personally, I think we'll make a great team as soon as you stop being a dweeb, no offense."

"I...I..." He chuckled weakly. "I have my reasons to stay in Karakura."

But Karin wasn't going to yield so easily. "Aren't your friends important to you?"

"They are," Chad stated with all seriousness, the only way he could, "and I am important to them. What if _they_ try to find us? That's why I must remain."

In response, Karin paced. Or limped, rather. Her scowl resembled a certain family member's sour mug. Chad was working too hard to reject her offer. There was certainly _something_ this guy refused to tell her. Was it about Ichigo? She'd come too far to go back now to be stopped by pair of tight lips.

"Okay, Chad, if this is ever going to work out, you need to be up front with me about a –"

Overwhelming all else, an immense surge of spiritual pressure tore into the world and effectively cut Karin off. Waves of energy buffeted them continuously. This new _reiatsu_ pulsed with darkness.

She reacted quickly, if just to voice her confusion. Wide-eyed, she asked, "What is that? I've never felt anything so…evil…"

Karin turned to Chad, only to see the man looking far into the distance, toward the source of this oppressive atmosphere. He had the appearance of a man put to trial, one who knew he was heading to the gallows.

_What could possibly possess enough power to scare Chad? Is this a Hollow?!_ She wondered, squinting her eyes in the direction he was looking. The source of the _reiatsu_ must have appeared around the graveyard, near the river where her mom had died.

Beside her, Chad's knuckles cracked and he muttered, "Soon. Far too soon."

Birds scattered from the trees and fled as night fell. The humidity was stifling.

"Chad?" Karin risked arching her brows. "What the hell is going on?!"

Sweat dripped off her brow and not from the heat; it took tremendous willpower to resist falling over, the _reiatsu_ was so enormous. Chad, Renji, Hirako, much less herself…they all paled in comparison next to this monstrous power. Anxiety, fear, and curiosity battled to be the dominant emotion within her.

Abruptly, the big guy spoke to her. "Sorry, Ichigo's little sister, but it seems I won't be able to accept your offer. Some of my friends will be here soon, and I'll be going with them. Hopefully, we'll meet again someday, and we can be a team then. I would like that very much…although I don't know if you'll still wish to be partners with me."

"Hey, what are you talking about? Who will be here? Hey, wait…you can't possibly mean to fight whatever that is! Hirako was nothing next to this thing!"

But he didn't answer. Just stood motionless. What was going on?

She grabbed his wrist (his shoulder was a bit too high for her to reach). "Listen, you can't take on that, _that_ thing alone!" Karin yelled at him. Fear welled up inside her but she gave it no heed; if he couldn't fight that Hollow, how could she? Regardless: "I'll go with you."

He turned around and faced her.

Worry defined his words. "Hold on, Ichigo's little sister," he raised his hands to halt her, "you, of all people, cannot meet _this_ Hollow! No one has told you, but –"

"I'm sorry, are we late?" a less than familiar voice intruded.

A gale swept through the park, heralding new arrivals. Chad and Karin were no longer alone.

Confused, Karin glanced at the newcomers. The man who spoke wore a strange, striped hat and old-fashioned Japanese clothes—Urahara, the shop owner. And there was a bald guy with weird facial hair, glasses and a large knapsack. Something furry brushed against Karin's legs; rounding out their troop was nothing more than a stupid black cat.

Why was _he_ here?

Urahara waved his fan. "Oh, having a chat with Kurosaki's sister, Sado-san? Well, no time for that! We need to hurry!" he barely paused to yell this at Chad, and soon he and his companions were gone as swiftly as they arrived.

Ichigo's friend made to go with them.

"Wait up, you!" Karin hollered, stepping forward. Pain shot through her foot and slowed her.

Chad paused to glance apologetically at Karin.

"I'm not done with you yet!" she berated him. "What's going on? That was Urahara! Tell me!"

He shrugged uncomfortably. "If I make it back, I promise to explain everything." He turned his back to her. "Don't follow me. Please."

She opened her mouth to yell at him, but he left as quickly as Urahara had. She moved to pursue and instantly, her injured foot came back to haunt her. She stopped; Chad and the others ran so fast, even the damn cat, that Karin Kurosaki couldn't have kept, anyways. She glared in the direction they went.

That powerful aura simmered with evil, yet felt oddly familiar to Karin. Standing alone in the park, then, it reminded her of a time when her mother was alive. A time when her mother might make Ichigo laugh at any given moment. Those days seemed further away than ever.

Determined, she limped after Chad and Urahara. Karin's mind was already made up. She was going after them if she had to hop on one foot the entire way.

* * *

It was not a peaceful night for Renji Arabai. How many Hollows had he killed prior to the dangerous _reiatsu_ swelling suddenly? He grinned maliciously. That dark _reiatsu_ had frightened off the weakling Hollows, but Renji was ecstatic. Tonight. It would happen tonight!

Most captains in Soul Society avoided duty in the human world; their powers were too dangerous for such mundane work. Furthermore, Soul Society was scared to part with any of the most powerful Shinigami for an extended time. Besides, most captains' egos were too bloated to handle doing the same job as a regular Shinigami. Renji wasn't most captains.

In fact, he had only accepted the position of captain on the condition that he would man the post in Karakura.

They thought him mad. Blamed it on the disappearance of his childhood friend, Rukia Kuchiki. Told him that it wouldn't be right for a captain to essentially _live_ amongst humans—he told them to go to hell. Likely, he would have been disciplined for his words if Soul Society wasn't so desperate for captains after the war against Aizen and the Arrancar.

And then unusually strong Hollows appeared with shocking frequency in Karakura. The type of Hollows that a typical Shinigami couldn't handle, and suddenly Renji's outlandish demand wasn't so absurd. Before long, he got his wish and he was patrolling the streets of Karakura, searching for restless spirits. They lifted his limit and permitted him to use his Bankai. He protected Karakura and its citizens from unspeakable dangers for over a year.

But it was not until tonight that his true reasons for wanting this post were vindicated. At last, he could have his revenge. The old fools running Soul Society weren't exactly wrong; Rukia's disappearance had everything to do with his demands to work in Karakura. Because Renji knew she hadn't disappeared at all.

A voice warned him not to go through with his plans, but that incredibly strong spiritual pressure pulled at Renji. He leapt off a streetlamp and ran towards the _reiatsu_. That mysterious Hollow had hid its powers too well to be the one Renji despised most. The source of this unrestrained power, though, could only be his old "friend."

Atonement and the past beckoned to Renji.

"Finally," he whispered, "you've returned, Ichigo."


	8. VIII

VIII

* * *

"That Hollow you fought earlier…it was someone we know, right, Sado-san?" Urahara asked Yasutora after he caught up with the group. "Why don't you tell us about it to pass the time? Are you worried about Karin-chan? Come on, open up—honesty and openness nourish the soul."

Yasutora frowned in silence; he hadn't enjoyed killing an old friend and saying Shinji's name would be akin to confessing to murder.

Buildings blurred as they ran through Karakura at breakneck speed. They rushed underneath the bridge where Ichigo and Yasutora became friends. Another blur and they passed by the street where Ichigo told Yasutora he wasn't needed. So many memories in an instant, as fleeting as the time it took to reach the next area. How would tonight's clash fit into his memories?

"Don't give Kisuke any heed, Sado," Yoruichi, now in human form, scoffed. When exactly she had transformed and when she had changed into clothing and even where the clothing came from, Yasutora had no idea. "He's not someone who should be criticizing others for being tight-lipped."

Tessai ran alongside Yasutora, similarly quiet. Lost in his thoughts, the Mexican barely heard the chatter.

"Are you implying anything untoward my integrity?"

"What integrity?" replied Yoruichi with a grin. She was running slightly further ahead of the rest and seemed impatient with the others' speed or lack thereof.

The landscape shifted as they entered a forested and left the city proper behind. The night was pitch black, hot and humid; nearby, the enormous, negative _reiatsu_ drummed their senses. For once, the cicadas were silent.

Yoruichi turned her attentions to Yasutora. "You keeping quiet to irritate Kisuke or are you having trouble keeping it together?" she asked in a serious, maybe even concerned, voice. "We're all Ichigo's friends, but you were the closest to him and the plan depends largely on you, Sado. Are you prepared, mentally, to do all that is necessary should things go awry?"

Prepared? That foreboding spiritual pressure was as blacker than the night sky. A lifetime of training wouldn't have been enough, and everyone in the party knew it. But Yasutora grunted and nodded.

"You better be, Sado-san," Urahara piped in. "The slightest hesitation could be the difference between life and all of us dying. More importantly, you'd best be prepared because we're here."

They reached a clearing in the woods near a river. Here the _reiatsu_ was a swirling tempest of malice and hatred. And in the heart of the chaos, a figure in black stood.

Yasutora shivered upon seeing what had become of his long lost friend. Ichigo's little sister was better off not witnessing what was to occur.

* * *

In the Kurosaki Clinic, unpleasant comprehension came abruptly to Isshin upon sensing the Hollow. At last, much of the last two years, including Urahara's silence about his son's whereabouts, made sense to Isshin. However, this epiphany didn't exactly come at the most convenient of times; he was a little too busy, at present, to deal with a disobedient son.

"What do you mean you can't spare any ambulances?!" Isshin yelled into the phone. "Why? What do you mean why?! Because I can't treat half my patients here! They need further attention at the city hospital or they'll die! Well, if none of the ambulances are available, send some cabs—anything! I don't care what it is so long as it moves! If you don't, I hope the thought that you let people die keeps you awake tonight!"

He slammed the phone down. Kon and Yuzu scuttled back and forth, tending to patients with lesser ailments. Isshin's throat was raw from shouting, while his fingers felt numb after operating on so many people. It was a miracle he could work, what with all of his distractions.

Oh, where could Karin be? Why had he let her go? Was he going to lose another family member? But Isshin stood by his earlier decision to remain in the clinic. The hard truth of it was, Isshin had to rely on Ichigo's friends to guard Karin because someone had to guard Yuzu. If he ran outside to be Big Daddy Hero for Karin, he risked losing both girls; as it was, each might be saved and _both_ of his darling daughters needed to be kept safe.

And, lest he forget, the patients needed him. Isshin could do the most was right where he was, in the clinic. But damn reality, convincing himself his choice was the most sensible when it was _his own son _out there was near impossible.

If he was to act, he should have done so earlier, right after Ichigo and Rukia failed to return with the others. Instead, he'd done nothing and now his family was falling apart. The girls weren't speaking to each other and Kon couldn't be more of a fraud. He'd kept his mouth shut in hopes of maintaining the status quo, but that had only made matters worse. Although, granted, it wasn't exactly his own fault that Ichigo would, in a moment, terrorize the city and possibly destroy the family permanently.

Yes, Isshin understood why Urahara hadn't told him anything now. He realized why immediately after he sensed that unbelievably strong _reiatsu_—Urahara must have figured that Isshin would do something stupid if he learned that his son had degenerated into a Hollow.

Well, that was dumb of Urahara. Isshin may have lost his son, but he would never do anything to jeopardize his girls' lives and risk losing the entire family. To be honest, Isshin wasn't terribly shocked to learn of Ichigo's loss of control, given how long the boy had been missing. He just couldn't figure out what happened to Rukia. Because Isshin knew his son: even if Ichigo turned into a demon and went berserk, Isshin knew his boy would never harm Rukia.

Isshin's fists clenched as he stepped back into the operating room, as his job could not possibly stop him from worrying about his daughter. Having faith in his son not to hurt Rukia was one thing, but Isshin wasn't confident enough of that to risk Karin's chances alone with Ichigo if worst came to worst.

* * *

So Karin was just supposed to let Chad and those weirdoes die? If Chad let himself get killed, who would help her find Ichigo and Rukia?! Would things ever get better with Yuzu? Honestly, Chad should have known that Karin wouldn't let him handle this new threat by himself.

_Could I actually make a difference, though? _Her indignant resolve to help faltered and she stopped limping forward. The pain in her right foot assailed her. _What if I only get in the way? One of my legs is practically useless and that huge _reiatsu _is_…Terrifying, to put it bluntly. Yes, that enormous power frightened her, sure, but not as much as the possibility of never seeing her brother once more. She might not be able to truly help out, yet she could not sit idly, either. _I'll never know unless I actually go._

Thus, she took a step forward and winced; her foot was getting weaker by the step. So distracting was the energy and the massive _reiatsu_ that Karin failed to notice two newcomers until they were right upon her.

"Karin-chan!" Somebody screamed her name.

Karin knew who it was at once. Her first response was relief that the two were fine, but irritation quickly overcame her.

_Great, the safety patrol is back_, she thought in annoyance; of course, it was only after she and Chad had taken care of the small fry that the pair decided to make an appearance. The two were never far away unless she desperately needed them, apparently. Karin wasn't sure what kept Orihime and Ishida occupied—likely Hollows—but, in any case, they must have noticed that impossibly large surge of darkness. _Sheesh, they are definitely not going to realize that it would be best if _all_ of us confront whatever that monster is…_

Karin turned around and spotted her would-be security guards. Orihime was panting heavily, clutching her chest. Ishida was, relatively speaking, calm and collected, the same as ever.

"Thank goodness, you're not hurt," gasped Orihime, sighing in enormous relief. Before Karin could dodge, she gave Karin a tight hug. When Karin cringed, Orihime's brows furrowed, "Or are you hurt?"

That damn foot again. After Karin managed to wrestle herself awkwardly out of Orihime's grip, she said, "Hurt? Maybe a little," she grudgingly admitted before dismissing her pain, "It's nothing, though."

Concern lit Orihime's eyes as she suddenly examined Karin closely. "Where?" she demanded to know. "Your right leg, is it? You stepped back uneasily…"

"My right foot," specified Karin. "Why are you treating me like I'm made of glass, all of a sudden? Well, I mean, you two usually do, but—what are you doing?!" Karin exclaimed as Orihime bent over and started rubbing a hand over her right ankle.

"Stay still," Ishida said, "It will take longer for Inoue-san to heal you if you jump about."

Karin's eyes widened and she glanced down at Orihime, who was concentrating on fixing up Karin. "She can do that much?" A light spread from Inoue's fingertips and latched onto Karin's ankle. The pain vanished wherever the light touched. Amazing.

"Yes, she can, and it's a good thing she has the power to do so because you need to run away soon," advised Ishida.

"Run away?" balked Karin. _Not this again…_

"Don't you know?" replied Ishida. "Hollows are everywhere—or they had been. We got caught fighting dozens of Hollows, in case you're wondering why we were absent a moment ago. We thought we'd be fighting them all night. It wasn't until a moment ago that they all abruptly fled."

"Fled? Hollows? Why would they…?"

She didn't need to finish the question for the dark spiritual pressure throbbed. It seemed humans weren't the only ones afraid of that massive energy. The _reiatsu_ reminded Karin of her need to hurry after Chad even as it made her feel cold inside.

"All done," Orihime proclaimed and stood. "Your foot shouldn't trouble you now, as long you don't sprain or bruise it right away. Go ahead, try it out!"

Stunned, Karin put some weight on the foot and jumped up and down once. True to Orihime's word, Karin's sprain was gone. If it weren't for her own memory, she'd never have believed that her foot had been crippling her a moment ago. In spite of her frustrations with Orihime of late, Karin could not help feeling a large sense of awe and gratitude.

"Thanks," she dipped her head in acknowledgement briefly.

Orihime smiled bashfully. "You're welcome. I'm just glad I made it in time."

"Really, I mean it." Her dad would kill to be able to mend sprains like that. "Wait a moment," Karin said, struck by dread as she recalled her home and family, "what about Yuzu?! Is she all right?"

"Your sister is fine," Ishida answered for Orihime. "We looked for both you _and_ your sister, I'll have you know. Yuzu is safe at home."

Anxiety seeped away from Karin. "Thank god." So long as Yuzu was safe, Karin could pull through the night.

"You're the one we're worried about right now!" Orihime added. "You need to get back home soon! For a moment, we—I, thought you might have…" she abruptly stopped in midsentence and glanced at Ishida, flushing.

Karin did not fail to notice this interaction. In fact, Orihime tended to do this a lot around Karin and, frankly, it drove her insane. Not so far away, the malevolent power pulsed with even greater strength; the longer Karin dallied here, the more likely that force was going to begin destroying.

Karin threw up her arms. "Thought I might have what? Decided to check out the Hollow that's radiating enough _reiatsu_ to turn the regular monsters into frightened kittens?" She tilted her head in the direction of the spiritual pressure. "'Run away,' or 'Don't do that, Karin-chan,' or 'We can handle this for you.' Have you two ever considered that maybe I'd be more obliged to listen to you if once—just once!—you'd bother to explain what's going on or why I shouldn't do these things? I know that I'm not as strong as you two—yet—but I want to help out as much as anyone, if you hadn't realized. Honestly, what the hell is that crazy powerful Hollow? Weak as I might be, I know the two of you or even Chad can't handle it by yourselves, either. This is a time for all of us to join forces! And if you can't do that much, at the very least, _talk_ to me, please!"

She gasped for breath, startled by her own emotional outburst. Ishida stared at her, and Orihime flinched when Karin glanced at her. Her rant had hit home, evidently.

Yes, Orihime and Ishida were awesome people for saving Karin and Yuzu again and again, but couldn't they see that hiding the truth could only be destructive in the end? Really, Chad was supposed to be the one to shed some light on a few things for her, but prying open his lips had been as easy as it would have been for Karin to lift the giant off his feet—that is, flat-out impossible.

Anyways, the Safety Patrol was having trouble responding to Karin. "Uh—yes, we maybe could be a little more forthright," mumbled Orihime. "Err…" She looked at Ishida for help.

A proper response came no quicker to him. "You shouldn't go there," he finally said, "because Kurosaki, your brother, definitely not want you to face _that_ monster. You'll die if you do," he added bluntly.

The dark energy throbbed as if it, too, agreed with the Quincy's point.

Karin's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You know what that thing is," she surmised, recalling how Chad personally knew that Hollow with a sword. _Hirako or whatever his name was. _The looks on Ishida and Orihime's faces confirmed her suspicions.

Ishida grimaced, noting that Orihime wasn't going to speak up any time soon. "It's an especially dangerous Hollow," Ishida told Karin carefully. He took a deep breath. "We know this because it defeated your brother. That's why he's been missing for so long."

Shock overwhelmed her. "Ichigo…lost…?"

"But Kurosaki-kun didn't die!" Orihime quickly put in, fortunately, before Karin's conclusions turned morbid.

Karin desperately needed to know more, but she couldn't resist a little dab of venting. "And was it so hard for you two to tell me this?" Seriously, if ranting would have gotten some results, she would have flipped out at them sooner. As it was, Karin likely needed a little time to settle down to process this information, but she felt all kinds of catharsis to finally hear some truth.

Orihime pursed her lips, "But we _really _don't know where he is, so we've never been able to tell you that much. He vanished two years ago."

Something wasn't adding up in this story. "Wait, what about Rukia? Why did she disappear, too? Did that monster defeat her or did she go looking for Ichigo or what?! Just don't tell me that she…" Karin swallowed and couldn't finish the sentence.

Neither Ishida nor Orihime gave her an answer. Orihime averted her eyes and Ishida saw fit to adjust his glasses. The humidity suddenly became noticeable and added to the discomfort. Nobody said a word, as the distant _reiatsu_ pulsed, but silence was about to get a kick in the ass.

"Come on!" A new voice spat out at Ishida and Orihime. "Why don't you at least tell the girl the truth?! Are you afraid of shattering her fragile heart? She's tougher than you think."

And the instantly-recognizable man appeared in a flash. No one else had long, red hair and a face covered with scars and tattoos. However, he didn't have his former cocky bravado tonight—only an impatient, disturbing fury. His grimace twisted the black tattoos on his face into something more than a little scary. Not that Karin was scared.

In any case, Renji demonstrated again he knew more about Ichigo and Rukia's disappearance than Karin. Furthermore, he might be more forthcoming about it than Ishida and Orihime. Then again, did Karin trust him? He had implied that he liked Karin, but the feeling was definitely not mutual.

Orihime's face paled. "Renji…"

Karin glanced at Orihime's white face in alarm. Apprehension ate away at her excitement to learn the truth, and she forced herself to breath. "What happened to Rukia?" she asked Renji, watching him walk across the glaze, towards that dark power. Her thoughts turned dark. "Did she get in trouble with some bigwigs in Soul Society? Was she…hurt bad?" Somehow, Karin doubted Rukia having wacky adventures with Ichigo, the way she'd like to imagine.

Orihime made a start towards the tattooed Shinigami and screamed, "Renji, don't say a—!"

"Rukia's dead," Renji said bitterly, fingering a long scar across the bridge of his nose.

In spite of her minor misgivings about Rukia's fate, the news smashed into Karin's chest, leaving her breathless. For a moment, she was speechless and could only think of was how impossible it was for Rukia to be dead; Karin had to be the butt of some sick joke. Yet Orihime and Ishida, who were beside Karin, had lowered their heads in grievance. _That Renji guy is telling the truth_. Dreadful acceptance seeped into Karin as she realized, for the first time, that she would never see Rukia again.

Renji, upon delivering his succinct words, continued forward.

"What…" Karin tried to process the information coherently. "How could that have…wouldn't Ichigo and everyone have…but…why…?" Then rage consumed her. "_Who did it_?!"

"Renji!" Ishida yelled.

But the Shinigami didn't listen to Ishida. He stopped to turn around and look at Karin. Pity briefly replaced anger in his eyes. "Haven't you figured it out by now?" he sighed and pointed towards the massive _reiatsu_—in other words, the stupidly powerful Hollow killed Rukia. Renji's anger returned quickly, "If you can recognize that spiritual pressure before I slaughter the asshole," he snarled, "you'll know well enough who did it!"

Renji dashed out out of sight, and Karin collapsed to her knees in confusion. Renji's hatred for that all-powerful Hollow was entirely too similar to his hatred for Karin's brother. All of a sudden, Karin realized why that overwhelming _reiatsu _felt so familiar to her; it reminded her of Ichigo. But the fact that the Hollow was a goddamn monster contradicted that notion entirely. Karin was uncertain, thanks to Renji, but one thing was clear: more than ever, she _had_ to confront the Hollow.

From the side Orihime edged close to her, with a hand in front of her that didn't quite try to reach Karin's shoulder and pat it in comfort. Good for Orihime that she did not, as Karin was in no mood for consolation.

_Rukia was supposed to be alive_, she thought angrily. She and Chad were supposed to find Rukia and Ichigo both and bring them back _alive_. That would be impossible if Rukia was no longer, but if she really had died …well, then it was clear that Karin and Chad's mission needed a minor modification: _Find Ichigo and kill _whoever_ killed Rukia. _But what if that murderer was…? Karin shook her head at the mere implication.

The air was tense and awkward again, and much too quiet; the night's enveloping darkness did not help the atmosphere any.

Eventually, Ishida spoke, "I need to follow that lunatic before matters spin out of control. Sado and the others need all the help they can get, and I doubt thatt Shinigami will do any good in the state he's in." He glanced at Karin and nodded meaningfully to Orihime.

"I know," murmured Orihime. "I realized long ago that I don't need to be involved in a fight directly to help out—I'll stay with Karin-chan and keep her alive."

Ishida smiled. "I'd expect nothing less," he said before running in pursuit of the others.

Karin watched the exchange between the two teenagers in horror, still stunned by Renji's revelation. After Ishida took off, she awoke to her senses again; if she sat on her ass all day, she'd never learn the truth.

"I'm not going to stay here while everyone dies," Karin stood and burst out determinedly.

Yet when she tried to move forward, a strange barrier halted her progress. Karin glared at Orihime.

"You're staying here," Orihime firmly refuted. "I made a promise to myself two years ago and I'm keeping it."

"What're talking about? Why shouldn't I go?!" Karin pressed against Orihime's barrier to no luck. "Who is that Hollow?!" It couldn't possibly be her brother, could it?!

"It…he…" Orihime faltered, but the invisible shield remained strong and she regained her focus. "I mean it, Karin-chan, we're staying here, even though I want to go help them, too!"

Determination backed up Orihime's decision, and Karin growled in frustration. She may have been trapped by some barrier, but it was Orihime who was truly cornered now. Closer now than ever before, the dark, yet incredibly familiar, _reiatsu_ overwhelmed all else.

* * *

The river beside Yasutora flowed gently, in stark contrast to the turbulent energy swirling around the masked demon shrouded in black rags that had once been Ichigo Kurosaki. Only the form of his body suggested that the Hollow had once been human. Surprisingly, his physical body didn't look much different, aside from his skin being unnaturally white—like a Hollow's. His mask, in contrast, was completely black; two long horns should have protruded to either side, but the left horn had broken off. It was tempting to call the current Ichigo the embodiment of evil, so threatening was his presence.

So it baffled Yasutora, then, that despite the Hollow's overwhelming strength, he remained perfectly still on the site where Masaki Kurosaki once died, years ago. The group of four hunters surrounding Ichigo, lead by Urahara, were certainly astonished.

Yasutora, Urahara, Yoruichi and Tessai observed their lost friend from a safe distance, put off guard by the lack of aggression. The four were all ready to spring into action and fight, but the Hollow chose not to attack, contrary to all of their expectations. Why? Shouldn't this distorted Ichigo be hungering for powerful souls? The unusual behavior forced Yasutora and the others into silence for the past few minutes.

There was no question for Yasutora that he needed to confront his old friend. Ever since the Ichigo snapped, Yasutora was well aware of the danger his former pal presented to the world, and he took it upon himself to defeat the lost Shinigami. Ichigo would want his sisters kept safe from him. Because Yasutora saw himself as Ichigo's friend still, he would fight him and die, if so be it. So he was here tonight, standing before his insane friend, but Yasutora was nowhere near as calm as the river beside them.

_Are we really friends, Ichigo? Do I need to kill you to truly be considered your comrade, or will that only make our friendship a sham?_

Suddenly, Yasutora felt himself reconsidering his own decision, unnerved by the passiveness of the monster Ichigo. It seemed he had prepared himself so much for fighting Ichigo that he hadn't been ready for this scenario. Yasutora thought of Shinji Hirako, and how he was unable to keep Hirako in this plane of existence. Was Ichigo's soul similarly desperate to leave this world?

Judging by the other's expressions, they too were feeling new doubts for, eventually, Urahara risked an explanation for the Hollow's odd behavior and broke the silence.

"Hollows act out of instinct," Urahara said to the others. The demon didn't budge at the sound of words. "Kurosaki-san's simplest instinct was to protect. After losing himself to the Hollow inside him, what does he have to protect? Who does he wish to save? Since his ego vanished, he cannot think about who he needs to save. So he just stands there, immobile."

Yasutora nodded slowly. Ichigo hadn't exactly been a normal Hollow when his mind suddenly slipped away.

"So," Yoruichi called from the other side of Ichigo, "that means we're safe then, if what you say is right."

"If I'm right, yes. Unless we provoke him, I doubt he'll attack us…for the time being, at least. Perhaps he's only temporarily confused?"

A gust of wind flapped against Ichigo's rags, and the Hollow stirred. Everyone got ready to attack, but he soon went motionless again.

"That's very consoling," muttered Yoruichi. Like everyone else, she kept expecting her former pupil to pounce on them. "He could only be pretending to be nice, for all we know."

"What should we do?" Yasutora finally asked.

"That's the question, isn't it?" chuckled Urahara. "Should we do anything to upset him, we'll likely all die swift deaths," Urahara laughed. Nobody else so much as chuckled.

Under the moonlight, they all stared at Ichigo, waiting, weighing, debating.

Tessai spoke, "My _kidou_ is ready, should you require it. We could avoid a lot of trouble if I restrain him before he puts up a struggle."

"Hold still for now," Urahara quietly ordered. "Any binding spells will likely fail, and I suspect they'll only make him mad." He faced Yasutora. "Sado-san, you've been training for the last two years and far exceeded what I thought was possible for you. Do you think you could take down Kurosaki-san?"

Clenching his fist, Yasutora shook his head sadly. "I'm still below his level, same as it was two years ago. I could damage him if I got a shot in, probably, but he's too fast and one punch wouldn't do it; I doubt he'll give me the chance to pummel him."

"I understand," Urahara replied. "That's better than nothing, at least." He turned to Yoruichi. "Do you think you could outrun him and escape if the worst happens?"

Yoruichi hissed, glaring at Ichigo. "Probably not."

In the center of the riverbank, the mutated form of Ichigo tilted his head to the side. He continued to send wave after powerful wave of _reiatsu_.

"Attack him and risk waking up a big, bad sleeping dog, or do nothing only to be woefully unprepared if he does suddenly strike—which he almost certainly will. Ah, what a terrible situation we're in," Urahara idly commented to his companions, who were not amused. His expression became serious. "I am deeply sorry for giving Kurosaki-san the means to become this, everyone," he apologized, "but I'll do my best to ensure we solve this little dilemma…"

Then, out from the trees, another man arrived at the riverbank. Everyone turned to look at him in alarm. The Hollow slowly glanced at the new intruder.

It was Renji.

He was livid. "Murderer!" he shouted at an unresponsive Hollow. Renji faced Yasutora and the rest. "Why aren't you doing anything?! He killed Rukia! Well," he chuckled humorously, his eyes maniacal, "perhaps I should thank you. If you guys won't, that means _I _can do it myself…"

Yasutora froze, while Urahara shouted, "Wait, no! Don't!"

"Bankai," Renji intoned.

Too late.


	9. IX

Sorry for the lateness. Now, it's time to go to a dark place.

* * *

IX

* * *

"What the hell…happened here…?"

Confused, Ishida stumbled into the clearing and discovered the bloody aftermath of the clash with Kurosaki. He couldn't have arrived more than a minute late, but it was already long since over for his friends.

Ishida scanned the surroundings, searching for survivors and any sign of Kurosaki. Only a fraction of moonlight illuminated the area by the riverbank, but he could see well enough to make out the dark crimson staining the grass; darkness hid all else. An unnatural silence engulfed the area; the only sound Ishida could hear was his own heartbeat. Kurosaki's _reiatsu_ was near, somewhere, but the man was nowhere in sight.

Carefully, Ishida stepped forward so he could try and figure out what happened. Despite his caution, Ishida immediately tripped over something large and bulky—Tessai. The sight of the big man was disturbing; Tessai's glasses had shattered and his face was barely recognizable. Ishida breathed deeply to calm himself and took a step back. Keeping his cool was not easy, though, when the trees rustled in the wind constantly and it was too dark to see beyond the nearest branches. The Quincy took another step back and his left foot brushed against another limp form. Ishida spun around and was surprised to see Urahara lying in a pool of blood; his right arm was nowhere to be seen. Ishida fought back an immediate urge to gag and looked to his right, away from Urahara's mutilated body; Ishida soon spotted another shadowed form. He approached it warily. Up close, he recognized the dark-red hair but the bloody gash across the face was brand new. Renji. He didn't stir as Ishida neared him but Renji's faint, raspy breathing was audible.

Ishida was startled into alertness by a loud cough. He turned it around and was relieved to see Sado. However, his injuries were disheartening; Sado struggled to stay on his knees while he clutched his right arm. Ishida winced; Sado's right elbow was bent at a sickening angle.

Ishida hurried over to offer a hand and helped his friend to his feet.

"The others, I think…they're all alive somehow…though they're all hurt pretty bad," Sado muttered, accepting Ishida's shoulder. "As for me, if I hadn't trained so much…I don't know. My arm…" The Mexican grimaced.

Ishida guided him to a tree, which Sado gratefully leaned against it, exhausted. Letting Sado catch his breath for a moment, Ishida gave the riverbank another thorough examination. He realized he may not have accounted for everyone. Shouldn't Yoruichi be somewhere, too?

Nearby, Kurosaki's spiritual pressure scuttled back and forth, and was slowly slipping further away. Ishida tensed. _Kurosaki isn't heading towards Inoue-san or his sister, is he? _No, he was going the other way. Even so, the thought didn't make Ishida relax.

Once Sado appeared to be in better shape, Ishida asked, "Are you all right? What happened? Where's Yoruichi-san?"

"I'm in better shape than I deserve to be," Sado coughed and gestured towards the unconscious Shinigami, "Renji….provoked Ichigo. Ichigo retaliated…and, despite everything, we weren't ready. We'd probably be dead if…Yoruichi-san hadn't distracted Ichigo and gotten him to chase after her. She was the only one who came close to matching his speed." Sado hung his head and groaned.

Ishida's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, Renji provoked him? I thought Kurosaki left Hueco Mundo in order to kill all of us."

"So did I…but Ichigo just stood still…Didn't do anything, at first, it was unnerving as hell," answered Sado, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm not really angry at Renji…I can't believe Ichigo would have done nothing forever. We had to attack him, eventually, but…"

Ishida listened and considered what he should do next. If Sado, Renji, Urahara, Yoruichi and Tessai together could not handle Kurosaki, it was unimaginable that Ishida could stop him alone. At best, he could merely delay the inevitable. _No, don't think about failure_, he told himself. _Think about Inoue-san and do whatever is necessary. _So there was no question in Ishida's mind about facing down Kurosaki—he had to be stopped or else the Inoue-san and the girl would be targeted. The only problem was the injured Sado and the others here. What to do about them?

"Will you be able to manage by yourself for now?" Ishida glanced at Sado's useless right arm. "Can you tend to the others for me?"

Sado's eyes widened in realization. "You can't mean to…alone…? You can't!" he argued, standing up. "Let me go—agh!" he winced, holding his right arm and stumbling.

"You can't fight in that state," Ishida rolled his eyes. "Besides," he added, "the other three need immediate attention. And _you_ need to live so you can stop Kurosaki in case I don't succeed."

He turned around and faced the direction he came from in the first place.

"Wait, Ishida!" Sado yelled.

Ishida paused.

"Keep Karin alive! Inoue, too!"

Ishida chuckled softly. "That's the plan."

"And yourself!"

"Sorry," Ishida pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "I won't make any promises that I can't keep."

* * *

Yoruichi ran through the forest faster than was sane to do so in broad daylight, much less in the darkness of night. Branches scraped against her skin as she had less than a split-second to see incoming trees and react; only well-honed reflexes prevented her from a calamitous crash against a trunk. Although her Shunpo was no longer what it once was, Yoruichi was certain she had never moved quicker in her life before this adrenalized flight. Tonight, sheer necessity powered her feet to unprecedented speed.

But it still wasn't good enough.

Because Ichigo, her former pupil, was inching closer to Yoruichi with every step; her agility was godlike, but his speed was on an even greater level. Sad to say but only pure luck had kept Yoruichi alive so far.

She tried to recall how she got herself into this run-or-die situation—later, if there was a later, she'd probably place all of the blame squarely on Kisuke—but events had spiraled out of control before she could think properly. Ichigo had remaining motionless for so long that it took everyone a moment to realize he'd vanished. That time was all it took for him to cut their numbers in half. Yoruichi heard two stifled screams and suddenly Urahara and Tessai were no longer by her side. Desperately, she braced herself for a blow but, by then, Renji and Chad had already been taken down. Five against one and none could so much as scratch Ichigo. Moreover, Yoruichi had no idea where he was—he moved faster than her eyes could follow. She stood alone, her allies fallen, and felt her body go rigid in defeat; she knew she was defenseless should Ichigo decide to kill her.

So Yoruichi had decided to run away. Not in order to escape death (that much was a given), but because she wanted Ichigo to follow _her_. She would be a decoy and save the others…assuming they still lived.

Well, Yoruichi got exactly what she wanted and now the monster was in hot pursuit of her. She ran from him in a never-ending, zigzagged circle; a cruel game of tag that could only end in her ruin. His spiritual pressure was so large and all-encompassing in close range that she couldn't pinpoint where he was; the fear of not knowing his location threatened to crush her before he could catch her.

All she knew was that he was dangerously close behind her. It was a miracle she had evaded him for so long. Then again, perhaps Yoruichi was only surviving because he was toying with her life. That notion sickened her. Regardless, Yoruichi constantly reminded herself that she was buying time for her friends; for every second she outran Ichigo, her friends lived that much longer. And, for now, that thought kept her legs strong and pushed Yoruichi past her limits.

Briefly, she wondered how long her body could last at this rate before breaking down completely.

* * *

That _reiatsu_ felt far too familiar to Karin for her liking.

_Is that Hollow—Rukia's killer!—my brother? _He couldn't possibly be that monster, but was he? Trapped behind Orihime's barrier, Karin was left to ponder the worst-case scenario. She wanted to scream in frustration. Dammit, she had to see the Hollow face-to-face and learn the truth or else her imagination would drive her insane. She had to get past this barrier. So, after Orihime appeared to relax a little, Karin spoke to her.

"Hey, um…Orihime?"

Breaking through the Orihime's shield with brute strength was beyond Karin's abilities and she admitted as much. Moreover, beating her fists against the impenetrable barrier would only be a waste of energy. Somehow, she needed to convince her brother's friend that letting her by was in everyone's best interests (you know, because it _was_). If not the physical barrier, perhaps Karin could take down the emotional one.

"Yes?" Orihime replied cautiously, not meeting Karin's gaze. "You're not going to tell me that we should fight that Hollow, are you?"

"No, no!" Not yet. Karin frowned. "Something you said earlier has been bugging me. What did you mean about making a promise to yourself years ago?"

Bashfully, Orihime scratched the back of her ear and smiled awkwardly. "How can I say this with a straight face? Err, I swore to protect you and your sister two years ago. Me and Ishida-kun both did."

Considering their recent actions, that made perfect sense. Except for one thing. "But _why_ promise that?" Why did Karin and Yuzu need to be guarded so closely?

Nervousness crept into Orihime's voice. Her guard was cracking. "I'm sorry, Karin-chan, but I can't answer that."

"What? Are you kidding me?!" Karin yelled in disbelief. "This is important! That Hollow is doing who-knows-what out there! This is no time for secrets!" She sighed in irritation and calmed herself; the goal here was to work on Orihime's emotions. "Listen, telling me stupid lies isn't going to keep me safe."

Orihime jolted upon hearing Karin's words and opened her mouth for a second. Yet she quickly snapped her lips shut and glowered at Karin. "I thought you weren't trying to convince me to let you go after the Hollow," Orihime muttered, vexed.

Okay, Karin's ploy failed miserably. That left her with one final option, the one she'd wanted to avoid.

She looked Orihime in the eye and hoped her voice wouldn't crack as she spoke her greatest fear aloud. "About what Renji said about that Hollow, it's…" Karin took a deep breath and did her best to ignore the terrifying _reiatsu_, "It's Ichigo, isn't it?"

Orihime paused and her face went ivory. Her expression confirmed the worst. "Yes," Orihime whispered.

Karin grimaced. After searching for him for so long, learning the whereabouts of her brother could not have been less satisfying for her. _So he _is_ a monster, then. That's why Renji hates my brother_. And that was why Orihime, Ishida and Chad refused to tell her the truth.

"Then," Karin concluded, remembering Renji's anger, "my brother really is responsible for Rukia's murder?" She frowned in consternation. Her spoken words somehow made these ideas frighteningly real. Her small hope that Renji was somehow mistaken about Ichigo was slowly being destroyed.

"It's true: Kurosaki-kun killed her," Orihime cringed, bothered by her own words. Suddenly, she swallowed, straightened herself out and spoke clearly, "That's why I've been protecting you and Yuzu, to answer your earlier question. This might sound terrible, but Ishida and I suspect that he's come back here to kill you and your family."

"What?" Karin gaped, staggered by the implication. "Are you serious?" She was still coming to terms with the notion of her brother being a killer, and hadn't even considered that he might want her dead. The idea felt completely foreign. _That's probably what Rukia thought, _too, a small voice whispered in her head.

"I'm not making this up!" Orihime insisted, a touch of anger in her voice. "Kurosaki-kun isn't himself anymore. He's a danger to everyone now!"

Orihime's words chilled Karin to the core. Trepidation devoured Karin's insides; the sensation could only be described as pure horror. The familiar _reiatsu _mocked Karin and reminded of her days long past when she would play with Ichigo. "How could this happen?" Karin asked. "Why would Ichigo ever do something so horrible?" It wasn't like him at all!

Orihime hesitantly spoke up in her brother's defense. "Under the circumstances…"

"What circumstances?!" Karin fumed, upset more than anything by the fact her brother's supposed crimes. "Something isn't right about this," she told herself stubbornly.

Orihime shuddered, but said "Calm down, Karin. Now do you see why it is so important for you to stay away from the Hollow, from Kurosaki-kun?"

If the situation hadn't been so horrible, Karin could have laughed humorlessly. Run from him? She was more convinced than ever that she should see him, no matter how terrifying Ichigo was. As a member of his family, she had a right to be involved in this mess.

Before Karin could voice her renewed desire to see Ichigo, Orihime gasped "He's moving again! Not towards us, but this means…Oh no, Ishida-kun and the others!"

True enough, that spiritual pressure was on the move. This meant then night had more victims. Was he searching for Karin's soul now?

"Karin-chan," Orihime grabbed her arm, "we need to leave. Now!"

"No, I'm going after him—hey, don't just pull me that way! Hey! Stop! Not again, argh!"

Karin's protests were futile. Orihime dragged her away with a surprisingly firm grip.

Karin decided to assume a dignified silence. She could accept running away from Ichigo, even if he'd killed Rukia. He _was _powerful and dangerous. Karin wasn't totally foolish; she believed she needed to confront him, but she couldn't deny that she was afraid to do so.

But you know what? Assuming that Orihime was telling the truth, Karin didn't see how it would do any good to flee from him. _If he's coming after me, there is no way _anyone_ can stop him_.

* * *

Ishida scoured Karakura, trying to find Inoue-san and Karin. Normally, it would have been easy to track their _reiatsu_, but Kurosaki's immense spiritual pressure had distorted Ishida's sixth sense. He had only his speed and his wits to rely on tonight. Desperately, Ishida prayed he would not be too late again.

Honestly, he wished he hadn't left Inoue-san's side to begin with, but what else could he have done? He hadn't wanted Inoue-san or Karin to see the battle against Kurosaki. Now both were in grave danger because he'd left them alone.

Ishida clenched his fists, remembering how this incident started:

Many images were vivid in his memory but one scene from the past haunted him above all others. No, that memory was not from the stupid venture into Hueco Mundo when Kurosaki lost to Ulquiorra and went berserk. Nor was it the sight of Kurosaki being stabbed by Gin and becoming a Hollow permanently in the false Karakura. What Ishida remembered every night was the nightmare of Kurosaki killing Rukia:

In the severed world between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, Ishida, Inoue-San, Kurosaki, Rukia, Renji, Sado and Hirako joined together to finish Aizen after the disaster in Fake Karakura. There, they defeated Gin and cornered Aizen. Somehow, impossibly, Kurosaki maintained some semblance of sanity in his Hollowfied form in Rukia's presence, and the group took advantage of this—despite some misgivings. But they figured only the sheer brute strength of Kurosaki's Hollow could overcome Aizen's Shikai, and they were desperate.

The plan worked. Aizen was soon the only enemy left; victory seemed imminent. Sure enough, they won the fight. In fact, winning was the easy part, as Ichigo cut down an Aizen that seemed to offer little resistance while his friends watched from a safe distance.

Then chaos ensued.

Upon killing Aizen, Kurosaki abruptly roared and lost control. He betrayed his friends and attacked everyone in sight. All Ishida recalled of the fight was a flash of light as Inoue blocked one of Ichigo's strikes, and the sound of steel ripping through the air. Then the world went black. Ishida's next memory was coming to beside Sado and Renji, who had also been defeated in an instant. Aizen's corpse was nearby, whereas Ichigo had disappeared along with Hirako. Separated from the others, Ishida saw Inoue-san sobbing into Rukia's limp and bloody body. There had been no need to ask Inoue-san, the only one of them to witness everything, who was responsible for Rukia's death.

That day, Ishida swore to do everything in his power to prevent Inoue-san from crying over the death of a friend again. Moreover, he refused to allow Rukia's fate befall her. So Ishida agreed to help her guard Yuzu and Karin when Inoue-san abruptly vowed to protect Kurosaki's sisters in case a certain Hollow returned to Karakura. As a result, Ishida spent more time alone with Inoue-san than he had deemed possible. He cherished the previous two years of his life.

But the waking dream ended now. In a moment, Ishida would face death in the form of Ichigo Kurosaki. Could he survive a second time? Ishida doubted any amount of fortune could help him against that overwhelming spiritual pressure. Nonetheless, Ishida would make his final stand. He braced himself, worrying more about Inoue-san's life than his own.

Not once did it occur to Ishida that Inoue-san would cry uncontrollably if Kurosaki murdered him.

* * *

Inside the forested park by the river, the inevitable finally occurred: Yoruichi's legs suddenly collapsed underneath her and she collided roughly into the hard, dirt-packed ground. Limits could only be surpassed so much, and not even Yoruichi's willpower could force her to move a step further.

A second after her fall, the boy Yoruichi had once mentored descended upon her. Her eyes widened as something sharp ripped through her stomach. Then darkness came.

* * *

Renji opened his eyes and regretted doing so immediately; upon gaining consciousness, he experienced the full force of a blinding headache. Pain dominated his sensations. His thoughts were jumbled, and memory failed him momentarily. How did this happen to him again?

He hadn't grown stronger in the slightest since his failure in the rift between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo—the time he let Rukia die. Everyone else had been against the idea of exploiting Ichigo's Hollow form until Renji foolishly said they could trust Ichigo. He convinced them that Ichigo would never hurt his friends. He paid dearly for that vote of confidence.

After the tragedy, Renji cursed himself for permitting Ichigo to remain a monster; it was his fault that Rukia had been murdered. He hated himself for believing in Ichigo's goodness, for not stopping that bastard from killing Rukia, for being unable to sacrifice his life for Rukia's. But he had been too weak. In fact, to his surprise, Rukia had actually fared better than he had against the berserk Ichigo. That might have been Renji's imagination, though, as it took Ichigo only a few seconds to knock out Renji.

His head throbbed and Renji returned to the present. Yes, he'd failed a second time. He'd refused to let Captain Unohana or Inoue remove his scars and had worn them like a badge of honour, and for what? Because of his inadequacy, history would repeat itself—Ichigo would murder again. Renji had been willing to die by Ichigo's hands, but had only been humiliated again by being given another chance to live.

That _pity_, as he saw it, from the bastard infuriated Renji enough to overpower the urge to lose consciousness. Why couldn't he have shown Rukia any mercy?! Agony lanced through his every muscle and his head pounded, but Renji persisted and forced himself to sit up. The world came into focus and he noticed for the first time that he was bandaged. Furthermore, he wasn't alone; Urahara and Tessai were similarly bound up beside him, still unconscious. How much time had passed since the fight? Who had treated their wounds?

It dawned on Renji that Chad and Yoruichi were missing. One of the two had likely patched him up, but where was either of them now? He couldn't sense their spiritual pressure. Were they dead? His headache grew worse; thinking was too difficult. More importantly, he could sense Ichigo's terrible _reiatsu_; it was moving somewhere at an impossible speed—the bastard was still at large, evidently.

Awkwardly, Renji stood up but, with his weak legs, he promptly fell to the ground.

That small voice inside Renji told him to lie where he was and rest, urging him to give up on his vengeance. Angrily, he stood again and ignored the voice. Renji took a clumsy step forward and then another; if he collapsed again, he would crawl if necessary. He would not stop until either he or Ichigo burned in hell.

* * *

Without speaking to each other, Karin and Orihime ran through the streets of Karakura. Karin soon came to the conclusion that running was stupid, but she kept the opinion to herself. Clouds now hid the moon, making the night darker than ever. The humidity was so dense it felt as though they swam around street corners. The city was much too quiet. Cars were parked on the street, motionless. Apparently, the regular townspeople could sense the hostility enveloping Karakura.

Behind them, the source of the hostility was quickly gaining on them.

She'd been a hundred-percent correct about her brother being unstoppable. About a minute ago, his _reiatsu_ suddenly charged towards them at a speed which shocked Karin. It didn't matter how far she and Orihime went; they'd never get away from him at this rate.

Karin couldn't keep silent anymore. "We need to face him, Orihime."

"We can't! We'll lose. Kurosaki-kun can't be defeated," Orihime said without slowing down.

"In case you didn't notice, Orihime, we can't outrun him, either," she argued, ignoring her own fear. "We're just wasting our energy right now."

Orihime came to a stop, and they rested against the wall of a random convenience store. Karin was grateful for this opportunity to catch her breath; all she'd done today was run, it seemed like.

All the while, that _reiatsu_ steadily drew closer to them. After she and Orihime stopped running, he slowed his pace. To draw out the suspense, Karin figured. Wonderful.

After a minute where nothing happened, Karin began to second-guess her decision to wait for her brother and face him head-on. _It's like waiting to die_, she thought grimly. It couldn't be long until her brother's Hollow chanced upon them. _He's close._

Just when waiting for him became nearly unbearable for Karin and Orihime, they heard footsteps. Alarmed, they were relieved to see a familiar face about to walk across the street.

"Ishida-kun!" Orihime exclaimed happily. "You're all right!"

The white knight was similarly relieved. He sighed, "I made it in time…"

Before Orihime could run over to him, though, a shadow flew behind Ishida.

"Ishida, behind you!" Karin shouted in alarm.

Transfixed, she stared at the dark form. Was _that _her brother? On the other side of the road, he was too far away to describe clearly. Still, that creature was the source of the dark _reiatsu_: it had to be her brother.

Ishida turned around in surprise, "What…?"

His voice gave out as the Hollow slashed him down in a fluid motion. Ishida's blood splattered against the street while Karin and Orihime watched helplessly. From where she stood, Karin couldn't tell if the Quincy was conscious or dead.

"Uryuu!" Orihime cried out, reaching a hand out towards the fallen Quincy before recalling who stood behind her—Karin. Her legs shook, but Orihime stood between Karin and Ichigo, ready to risk her own life.

The Hollow didn't glance to check if Ishida was dead or not; his attention was fixated on Karin. A black mask covered his face but there was no doubt that his expression, were it visible, would have conveyed as little emotion as the mask. That alone made Karin momentarily doubt that this could be her brother.

He began to walk towards Karin. In his presence, all notions of fighting vanished; deep down, she hadn't believed he could have become so corrupted. As he got closer, his features became clear. He wore torn black robes that resembled those of a Shinigami. His form was manlike, but he had long hair? _Is it really Ichigo?_ That spiritual pressure had to belong to her brother, however, it was so familiar.

"Th-this time I'll stop you," Orihime stuttered. Her confidence grew and and she declared, "I'm not the love-struck idiot I used to be!"

A semi-transparent barrier appeared around Orihime and Karin, separating them from the Hollow. He paused, as if deliberating on how to proceed. Then he raised his sword and slashed at the shield. It shattered instantly and he continued walking. Orihime, weakened by the barrier's destruction, fell to her knees—she had tried to defend Karin without success.

Her brother's Hollow stood in front Orihime.

"No, Kurosaki-kun, I had hoped you were—"

He put a hand on her shoulder and flung Orihime aside, not bothering to use his sword. Karin's eye flirted to the side and she saw Orihime bounce off the pavement and roll out of sight. Her eyes darted back to the one who had ruthlessly crushed Orihime.

No one stood between him and Karin now. She wondered if it was accurate to call him a Hollow. Aside from the mask and deathly pale skin, he looked almost human to her eyes. Aside from the mask, the long hair, and the sickening hole in his chest, everything about him was recognizable to Karin. _Oh god. _Those arms were Ichigo's; they had caressed her when she was in danger many years ago. The shoulders were his, too; Karin remembered begging him for piggy-back rides. And the pale hands belonged to Ichigo—only Karin had never felt as though those hands wanted to strangle her neck before tonight.

Calling him a Hollow felt wrong to Karin. Ichigo was something far worse now.

His mouth opened and he rasped, "Protect…protect…"

She scrambled backwards, trying to get away, disbelieving. What the hell kind of a sick reunion was this? He moved closer to her, dispelling all of Karin's attempts to deny this was happening. Karin sensed that he recognized her and her heart stopped. Orihime had told her the truth for once, and Karin desperately wished that the woman had been wrong.

But no amount of praying could change the morbid reality before her.

"Sister…sister…"

Her brother wanted to kill her.


	10. X

This is the climax.

* * *

X

* * *

The night heated to a boil and time slowed as Karin's distorted brother effortlessly broke past her guardians. The simple truth was, despite her earlier bravado and brash words, Ichigo could do whatever he wanted to her if he could take out Ishida and Orihime. All Karin could do in front of Ichigo was tremble, as she dared to look at the crude black mask covering his face, hoping to find any signs of the Ichigo she knew. No traces of the kind-hearted brother from her memory remained to be seen.

Uncontested, he stepped closer. Karin instinctively scrambled away from him until her back hit a wall; running away was not an option. She watched him draw near and heard him repeat the word "Protect" endlessly. The black sky, thick with dark clouds only added to Karin's discomfort. Ichigo inched forward relentlessly; the scent of rotting flesh entered her nostrils. She couldn't scream—her tongue was caught in her throat. Closer, he kept getting closer! Ishida's blood dripped off his black sword.

Once he was less than a span away from Karin, Ichigo raised an arm and reached towards his sister. Her eyes fixated on his long, pale fingers and she tried futilely to back away. This close to him, his powerful _reiatsu_ nearly made her faint. Then something colder and rougher than marble brushed against Karin's bare shoulder: his hand made contact with her skin, and she shivered. Karin apprehensively glanced at the bloody blade he held in his other hand.

This was it. Karin shut her eyes. _Her life was going to end and she didn't do a thing to fight back._

Before her brother could tighten his hold on her or use that menacing sword, though, the air around Karin ignited and she sensed a powerful discharge of spiritual energy. Her eyes snapped open and Ichigo had vanished. An old friend stood where her Hollowfied brother had been.

"On second thought, Ichigo's little sister, I've decided it would be a very good idea for us to team up," said Chad, the man who just prolonged her life. His right arm was bent funny and he struggled for air between words, but his presence knocked Karin out of her terrified daze. "You can hate me later for what I'm about to do."

Frowning, she shook her head. Hate Chad? "I'm only mad at myself for doing nothing," she mumbled.

Chad didn't reply. Perhaps he hadn't heard her.

Recalling her brother, Karin looked around anxiously. It couldn't be over yet. She didn't know whether to fear for her life or Chad's or to be afraid that Ichigo might never return to his old self, but she definitely couldn't let her guard down now.

Doing her best to avoid staring at Chad's twisted elbow, she asked, "Ichigo, is he…?"

"He's alive. I can't punch much harder than that, but it still wasn't strong enough. Look."

In the direction Chad indicated, Karin saw her brother rise to his feet twenty meters away. A chunk of his left shoulder was missing, his arm was gone entirely, and his skin was charred black along the edges of his wound. Yet as Chad spoke, bones and muscles burst out of his shoulder, followed by strands of string that Karin realized were veins. The flesh magically sewed itself together, and the raw body tissue materialized into a fully-functional arm. In less than fifteen seconds, it was as though Chad had never struck him.

On the verge of hysterics, Karin gaped at the instantaneous regeneration. _What, on top of being all-powerful, he's indestructible, too?_ Couldn't he have some kind of a weak point? Chad needed more help than Karin could provide, unfortunately. She wanted to scream.

_Can't I do anything?_

* * *

Contrary to any rumors, Ishida was definitely alive. Immobile, yes. Useless, maybe. Dying, probably, but _alive_. For the time being.

In a severely wounded state, Ishida watched helplessly while Kurosaki's body reconstructed itself. His head throbbed and Ishida was uncertain how he'd ended up face-down on the asphalt, but the burning laceration down his back made itself known; the pain was agonizing but not excruciating enough to render Ishida unconscious. Kurosaki's slash hadn't cut to the bone, Ishida concluded—not that this made him feel any better.

Worse than his injury, though, was watching Inoue-san being hurt. He had no clue what'd happened to her after Kurosaki roughly threw her aside, and his anxiety over Inoue-san's well-being tormented Ishida. Vainly, he attempted to drag himself forward to see her, but the pain in his back constrained him and forced him to stay where he was.

So Ishida observed the battle unfolding between Sado and Kurosaki. A mere ten minutes earlier, he'd been the one rushing off to challenge Kurosaki while Sado nursed his wounds. _How did our roles reverse so quickly?_ As it was, they were doomed if Kurosaki fully-regenerated any wounds Sado inflicted on him.

_If only I could regenerate like Kurosaki can_, Ishida thought bitterly. Or like someone else who could regenerate. _Who was that?_ Dimly, Ishida recalled another man who had fought a berserk Kurosaki. It had been so long ago that the details escaped the injured Ishida. _Think!_ Yes, Ulquiorra barely defeated the Hollowfied Kurosaki back in Hueco Mundo. _How did Ulquiorra do that?_ The cut on his back hurt worse than ever, but Ishida tried to remember; if he didn't, Inoue-san, Karin and Sado's lives were in jeopardy.

He struggled to raise his head, and he glimpsed the crazed Kurosaki. His world darkened, but Ishida focused on the lone horn atop Kurosaki's black mask. The mask…Ulquiorra struck the mask—that was crucial.

"Sado!" Ishida summoned his remaining energy and yelled, praying his voice was loud enough, "Aim for the mask!"

* * *

The desperate shout was heard, and Yasutora glanced at Ishida. _So he's alive then?_ The Quincy had raised his head but the rest of his body remained limp. _Yes, but at this rate…_Time was of the essence, to say the least.

Before Yasutora could digest Ishida's words, though, Karin hollered, "Chad! Pay attention to Ichigo, he's…!"

Yasutora's quickly turned his attention to Ichigo but not soon enough: the Hollow was staring at the Quincy's fallen form. As if annoyed, Yasutora's former comrade casually lifted his newly-regenerated hand and pointed it at Ishida.

"No!" someone shouted from behind Karin and Yasutora.

A blast of crimson, violet, and black light—a Cero—erupted from Ichigo's finger tips. The Cero engulfed Ishida, along with half of the street, seemingly obliterating everything in its path. Ichigo watched the aftermath of the explosion with disinterest as a cloud of smoke arose from the gigantic blast.

"Damn!" Yasutora swore under his breath. He heard Karin stomp her foot against the sidewalk.

As the dust settled, Yasutora glared at Ichigo; his earlier doubts about Ichigo's monstrosity were being destroyed by his old friend's actions. _Ichigo, have you truly forsaken your humanity like Hirako did? Are you beyond saving? _Yasutora's left fist clenched, and he cursed himself for having a small shred of faith in Ichigo. Even as Ichigo's crimes mounted, Yasutora wanted to return his friend to normal. _Damn!_ Sympathy wouldn't help him win this fight.

But, speaking of sympathy, why wasn't Ichigo attacking? The darkly-garbed demon with the black mask kept looking where Ishida had been. The smoke cleared, and Yasutora heard a weak cough which answered his question. He saw a silhouette in the cloud of dust and felt a sudden surge of hope.

"Ishida's still alive somehow!" Karin exclaimed in bewildered joy, "But…why?"

Yasutora looked around frantically, and suddenly smiled. He understood now; a pure white, triangular barrier shone in front of Ishida for a moment and faded away. And that voice earlier…_Inoue._

From around the corner of the block, Inoue limped into view. She was putting all of her weight on her left foot, but Inoue managed to concentrate on Ishida; sweat rolled down her cheek, but she refused to back away. None of Ichigo's friends were giving up easily tonight.

Distantly, Yasutora recalled her barrier deflecting Ichigo's Cero in the past. In fact, she was the only one among Ichigo's comrades who'd avoided being maimed by him two years ago. _Why doesn't she have more confidence in herself?_

But Yasutora didn't have time to ponder over Inoue's lack of self-esteem. Already, Ichigo had turned his attention to the very one who'd kept Ishida alive. Another Cero would be fired momentarily, and Yasutora had to be prepared this time—behind him, Karin shuffled around restlessly. There was no room for error.

_Attack the mask? It might work._ Yasutora's thoughts raced as Ichigo's arm rose seemingly in slow motion. _But how can I do that? _The pressure fell squarely on Yasutora. _That last punch drained a lot out of me, and my injuries are catching up fast. Do I have enough strength left to win? _Ichigo's arm came to a stop once it was parallel to the ground. Ichigo's speed was the main dilemma here. _He's not going to let me just punch him in the face._ Ichigo's arm rotated until it pointed at Inoue; her barriers could deflect Ceros, but her _reiatsu _was nearly gone. Inoue wouldn't be able to summon another shield. _I can't charge at him like a fool, but if I do nothing…!_ The Hollow's spiritual energy expanded and gathered in Ichigo's fist—this Cero was going to be the biggest one yet. _Damn!_

Yasutora stepped forward, and was startled to see Ichigo's little sister race past him. During his careful deliberating, Karin had somehow slipped under his watch; she was clearly running into the line of fire. Apparently, she wanted to sacrifice herself to save another life—well, she was Ichigo's little sister, after all.

It was funny how Yasutora imagined Ichigo was moving in slow-motion earlier; now all of Ichigo's motions seemed to accelerate. Yasutora ran but his body felt like jelly; he wouldn't reach Karin before the Cero destroyed both her and Inoue.

The humidity intensified, and the entire area shook as Ichigo focused all of his enormous reiatsu into a single point. Abruptly, the few remaining streetlights flickered out, pitching Yasutora, Karin, Ishida and Inoue into complete darkness.

* * *

Elsewhere, Renji battled his body's limits and limped towards the battle. A dark trail of blood followed him, marking the path he'd taken in pursuit of Rukia's killer. He missed a step and crashed into the road. The nagging voice inside him urged Renji to stay down and rest. Wearily, he picked himself up and continued onward.

Dammit, he still had a long way to go. With these injuries, Renji moved slower than a rookie Shinigami. He took a step and stumbled for the umpteenth time; he was grateful no humans could see him in this pathetic state. Frustrated, he looked up at the sky; the clouds were thickening, darkening and swirling rapidly, blotting out the stars and moon. After all those days of scorching dry heat, a rainstorm was coming.

Using his sword to support himself, Renji pushed himself off the asphalt. He had to go on—he knew who stood in the center of this storm.

* * *

Only later, after she was past the point of no return, did Karin realize how incredibly stupid it was to jump between her brother and Orihime. Instinct had kicked in before reason, unfortunately.

Deep down, she just wanted to help the others more than anything. Orihime and Ishida had saved hers and Yuzu's lives far too many times, and Karin had repaid them by standing still while Ichigo ripped them to shreds. You know what, maybe Karin _could _stop Ichigo when everyone else failed—she could try, if nothing else.

As the earth trembled and the light fled, she skidded to an uneven halt before her brother. This was when it occurred to Karin that her rescue plan sucked, since she had no plan to begin with. Had she been thinking clearly, she might have tackled Ichigo from behind, instead.

The low rumbling of distant thunder pealed and the air pulsed around Ichigo. Lightning flashed, illuminating her brother's ominous form for a second; his hand was outstretched, ready to let loose another one of those crazy explosions. Yeah, one of those would incinerate Karin pretty quickly. Orihime was shouting at her to run away, but it was too late for that.

For god's sake, there had to be something only Karin could do. _Okay forget thinking. Just be his sister! _So she finally allowed her pent-up emotions to burst free and the bottled-up tears she'd sworn never to shed streaked down her face.

"_Ichigo, you big idiot!_" she wailed, hoping for him to hear her if nothing else.

An unnatural silence permeated though the heat and darkness. Karin wondered if she'd already been hit by one of the blasts and just hadn't realized her own death yet. _Or maybe a second from now, I'll die?_ The night was so dark she wouldn't be able to see him or anyone else in her final moments.

However, instead of an explosion, a lone streetlight lit up. Karin's knees were quivering, so it took her second to notice that the ground was no longer shaking. She saw Ichigo lower his arm. He stared at her, but that cruel mask on his face was indecipherable. Her own face, on the other hand, was painted with shocked disbelief; her intuition might've deceived her, but Karin thought she'd sensed a faint shadow of the real Ichigo's soul. Did he hear her? _Answer me!_

From a dry throat unsuited for human speech, her brother rasped, "Protect…Karin…protect…"

Karin shuddered—she got her answer.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yasutora ran towards Ichigo with added urgency after the light returned. He'd feared the worst after it went dark, but Karin still lived. What fortune was this?

Yasutora didn't need any explanations. His left fist was already flying—an overwhelming need to protect Karin powered his left arm. It was hopeless, Yasutora knew, to believe the blow would land; even if it did, Yasutora doubted he could move afterwards, considering what little _reiatsu_ he would have left. He couldn't survive a counterattack. Any second now and Ichigo would dodge and slice Yasutora into pieces.

Except that Ichigo never dodged the punch. He stood like a rock, watching his sister intently, and didn't budge a centimeter when Yasutora's fist hammered into the center of Ichigo's mask.

_Ichigo, I hope your true self is in there somewhere._

With an earsplitting crack, the black mask split in two.

* * *

"Impossible," Ishida muttered weakly, watching Kurosaki smash into the pavement. Not a second later, Sado followed suit and collapsed.

_We won. _Ishida couldn't comprehend what he'd just witnessed. _Why didn't Kurosaki attack his sister? _A memory of Rukia controlling Kurosaki in this state tugged at Ishida. _But he killed Rukia! _Something wasn't connecting.

For now, Ishida let out a sigh of relief. Inoue-san was safe. Kurosaki was defeated, impossible though that was—his dark spiritual pressure had dwindled into nothingness.

* * *

The battle left its mark on Karakura. Deep cracks crisscrossed the pavement and had broken apart the road. A giant crater stood in the middle of the street where Ichigo had fired the Cero. More than one building had been damaged, each to a different extent; a collapsed roof here, a broken-down wall there. Electricity crackled from the snapped cable of a fallen power line. Splattered amongst the disarray, dark blood served as a grisly reminder of the hard-fought clash.

Amidst the ruined street, Karin peeked at Chad and Ichigo with apprehension. Chad had suddenly crumpled to the ground and wasn't moving. _Is he breathing? _Her brother, meanwhile, was in no better condition: a vertical cut ran down his forehead and between his closed eyes, and was bleeding steadily. Since Ichigo'd apparently refused to kill her, Karin wasn't sure what to think of him. She squinted at her brother, warily. Upon closer inspection, it struck Karin that Ichigo looked a lot more like himself without the mask hiding his face. _And now he looks dead_—Karin coughed and gagged, suddenly, and hurried to cover her mouth.

Her throat was raw and she felt sick to her stomach. _Too much…_The culmination of a distressing night full of panic, confusion and terror pushed her to the breaking point. _Too much. _She couldn't breathe properly. _Too much! _The sweltering heat threatened to burn her alive.

Then something wet dropped on her forehead and brought Karin back from the brink of a nervous collapse. The air cooled for the first time in ages. She blinked as another drop splashed against her reddened eyes; it felt oddly soothing.

A light rainfall dribbled down from the dark and ominous clouds. Karin glanced at her brother again, despising the slow trickle of tears streaming down her face.

Then a bright flash of light enveloped Ichigo. Karin stared as his hair receded into his skull and his long mane turned into a shorter, shaggy mop of hair. Flesh filled the hole in his chest, and his white skin returned to its natural hue. The vertical gash on his forehead stopped bleeding, but her brother's face was still a bloody mess. Throughout this spectacle, Ichigo didn't stir.

"Karin-chan!" Orihime called out. Karin took her eyes off Chad and Ichigo and faced Orihime, who still favored the one leg. "You weren't hurt, were you?"

Karin gritted her teeth and furiously wiped at her eyes. She shook her head; Karin was the only one here who hadn't received so much as a scratch. "I'm the only who's _not_ hurt." The rest of the gang needed attention, not her, couldn't Orihime see that? "Will they be okay?" She pointed at Ichigo and Chad. But should she even be concerned about her brother after tonight?

Orihime looked at Ichigo and Chad, back and forth. She hobbled a step and grimaced; Karin noticed that Orihime's right leg was bruised and bloodied beneath her skirt. Her ankle must have been sprained, if not fractured.

"I'll need you to lend a shoulder before I can do a real check-up, but they'll be fine by the time I'm done with them," Orihime assured. "Sado-san just expended himself, so he'll recover with a little rest. And Kurosaki-kun—"

"Will die, I promise."

Karin and Orihime's heads spun in unison. A heavily-bandaged Renji dragged himself around a corner, holding his sword like a walking stick. His _reiatsu_ was so weak that neither girl had sensed him until after he'd stepped past Chad. Renji came to a halt in front of Ichigo. The Shinigami coughed coarsely and rubbed his mouth; his hand came back bloody. He ignored the soft rain.

"What luck," muttered Renji, smiling wickedly. "I've dreamed of this moment every night for the last two years…Sado did a lot of the work for me, sure, but _she_ won't mind so long as I finish the job…"

Paralyzed, Karin and Orihime watched Renji straighten his legs and raise his sword high above his head. The tip of the blade was aimed directly at Ichigo's neck.

Realizing his intent, Karin stepped towards Renji but the Shinigami lowered his weapon in response. Karin froze in her tracks and glared at Renji.

"Don't give me that look!" Renji warned. He coughed again. "You could beat the shit outta me the way I am now but I…don't care if you kill me, kid, because you'll never stop me before I bury this sword in your bastard brother's neck."

Karin averted her gaze and bit her lip. She hadn't forgotten her brother's rampage, by any means. _Renji might be saving all of us if he goes through with this, but still…_

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ishida inching forward behind Renji.

"Stay where you are, Quincy!" Renji growled, his sword wavering dangerously close to Ichigo's throat. Blood leaked down the Shinigami's leg from an abdominal wound. "Either you or Sado bandaged me up earlier, but don't think I'll repay you any favors right now. My debt to _her_ comes first."

Ishida stopped dead, like Karin had. Renji was probably taking the safest course of action, but this was an execution, plain and simple—it felt wrong.

Karin concentrated on Orihime's spiritual energy. _She doesn't have enough._ Well, the older woman could probably attack Renji by using her remaining _reiatsu_, like Chad had, but then she wouldn't be able to heal Ishida. Chad was out of commission. _Does this mean I need to stand idly and do nothing again?_

The rain fell tenderly on Ishida, Orihime and Karin as none of them dared to budge while Renji was poised to strike down. Everyone was still recovering from Ichigo's assault; they hadn't prepared for a situation like this. Thus, all eyes centered on Renji and they waited, petrified to the spot. Karin's tears stopped but were ready to burst out again as soon as the guillotine dropped.

Yet, though Renji trembled in fury and no one interfered, his blade never fell.

"Why?" he murmured angrily, his hands shaking, "That stupid voice again…"

_Voice? What the hell is he talking about? _Karin thought in confusion. The prospect of watching her brother being slaughtered like an animal had dumbstruck her.

Near Karin's side, Orihime whispered, "You can't do this, Renji…"

It was then that Karin really paid attention to her guardian. Orihime kept shaking her head, then swallowing, and nodding her head. The longer Renji hesitated, the more Orihime nodded.

Renji tightened his grip on his sword and steeled himself. "It's only because it's in cold blood," he muttered, glaring at Ichigo, "I wanted to kill him in combat, that's all. He looks too…too _human_ like this." His voice grew louder. "I can do it. I have to! _She needs me to kill him!_"

He lifted his sword up and closed his eyes.

"Stop it, Renji!" Orihime suddenly screeched, startling Karin.

Karin's little jolt was nothing compared to Renji's reaction—he stumbled in surprise and let go of the sword. With a sickening thunk, it pierced the ground right beside Ichigo's neck. Renji recovered fast, before Karin could rush at him, and he hastily grabbed the sword and held it above Ichigo's head again.

"The hell?" he barked at Orihime.

A shiver went through Orihime's body, but she shot Renji an icy look. "You can't kill him!" she burst out. "You don't know what really happened!"

Renji scowled. "I know enough," he retorted. Now he appeared angry enough to murder. "And I _will _kill him, Inoue. I don't care if you want 'Kurosaki-kun' to be your boyfriend."

Orihime flinched, although she didn't yield any ground. In the distance, Ishida snarled. Bemused, Karin observed all of these reactions. _But what about Ichigo?_

"Yes," Orihime agreed and touched her chest. "For a lifetime, I'd wanted nothing more than to be with Kurosaki-kun. That, I think—no, I know—caused the mess in Hueco Mundo two years ago." Orihime's eyes bore into Renji with conviction. "But thatwas two years ago, nothing more." Her gaze flickered to Ishida. "_Now_, I question if those feelings were honest or just a flight of fancy."

"Well, good," said Renji after a pause. "If you don't want him, then you won't miss him when he's gone."

"No!" Orihime choked. "Listen to me, I'm not done yet! You need to hear me out!"

Karin's ears perked up. The conversation was flying over her head, but she was deeply curious to learn more about her brother's past.

Renji coughed and cleared his throat angrily. "What's there to hear?" he roared. "We all know Ichigo killed Rukia! He betrayed us and now I'm gonna make sure he never kills again!"

"Yes, he did, but he didn't mean to, Renji!"

"What?" He was infuriated. "Don't tell me we should blame it on his Hollow! That excuse won't bring Rukia back!"

His sword crept lower with every word he shouted. By the time he'd finished bellowing, it was digging into Ichigo's neck and drawing blood.

"We were tricked, Renji," Orihime mumbled. Tears welled in her eyes, but didn't fall. "I was the only one who saw the truth."

"Tricked?" He spat in disgust. "We sure were—he fooled us into believing we could control trust him!"

"No!" denied Orihime vehemently. "Aizen fooled us. You and the others didn't see it…"

For the first time, Renji frowned in suspicion rather than anger. "We saw him kill Aizen. That was the last good thing this jackass did…before he went for Rukia, in case you forgot."

_Who's Aizen? What's going on?_ Karin was glad to see that Ishida looked perplexed, too.

Orihime continued shaking her head, "No, you didn't see him kill Aizen," she replied. "Renji," Orihime's voice weakened and her shoulders slumped in resignation, "Kurosaki-kun did not kill Aizen first. We were under an illusion, Kurosaki-kun included. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Karin hadn't the slightest inkling how this mattered, but Ishida gasped audibly. Renji opened his mouth, baffled, before glowered at Orihime.

"What the hell are you talking about, Inoue? I _saw_ Aizen die! Are you trying to deny my own memory? Are you that desperate to protect a murderer?"

Orihime groaned in frustration. "No, I'm saying Aizen was pretending to be Rukia, using his Shikai. We thought we saw Kurosaki-kun defeat Aizen, but he'd accidentally killed Rukia instead."

_Accidentally killed Rukia?_ Karin looked at Ichigo again, who slept through this debate, unaware his life hung in the balance. _Does that make his actions forgivable? Accident or not, Rukia is dead._

"Yes, yes, this makes so much more sense," Ishida muttered to himself.

Renji hesitated, but he wasn't convinced. "That's ridiculous! And how come you know this, anyways, Inoue?"

Orihime winced as if waiting to hear Renji's question. "I was the only one who didn't get injured by Kurosaki-kun, remember? After he knocked out you guys, I couldn't stop Kurosaki-kun from stabbing 'Rukia.' As Hirako-san charged at Kurosaki-kun and they both disappeared, Rukia's body transformed into Aizen's; horrified, I looked around and saw Rukia lying where 'Aizen' should've been. I understood what happened then and ran to the true Rukia, but I was too late…" A tear slid down Orihime's cheek. "I think Kurosaki-kun realized his mistake right away, which is why he went berserk…"

Karin listened to story with rapt attention, shocked that something so terrible happened to Ichigo. _That is, assuming Orihime is telling the truth, for once._

"Yes," added Ishida, frowning in thought, "I always thought Aizen had gone down too easily; it made no sense that he didn't use of his Shikai, since we all saw him use it in Karakura. But Aizen really _was_ using it but later lost to Kurosaki, I suspect, because our friend was insane—Aizen's Shikai wouldn't be as effective against someone ignoring his senses and lashing out in any direction indiscriminately." Ishida raised an eyebrow at Renji. "Surely, you've questioned Kurosaki's fight with Aizen as well?"

"Shut up!" Renji snapped, looking away from Orihime briefly. Renji glowered uncertainly. "I've always thought Rukia fought beyond her limits against Ichigo back then, but if she'd actually been Aizen at the time…that would mean…"

"That everything makes sense," Ishida concluded, warranting another scowl from Renji. "We're alive, aren't we? If Kurosaki was truly hell-bent on destroying us, he gave away two great chances to do so. I never believed we should have survived his first rampage, but we did. We should have died tonight, too. Also, if I remember what Sado said correctly, _somebody_ provoked Kurosaki tonight."

Renji grunted. "Still, he attacked all of us, his friends, and murdered Rukia," he croaked, appearing deeply troubled.

"Actually, he didn't attack me once," Karin spoke up, finally having something to say. She wanted to believe Orihime and Ishida, if doing so would lessen Ichigo's sins, but she knew that might only be wishful thinking. "Ichigo looked scary and I thought he would snap my neck, but…"

"He drew the line at hurting you," Ishida finished, fighting off an urge to moan in pain; the conversation was taking a toll on him. "You didn't see it, Renji, but Sado's finishing punch only connected after Kurosaki refused to fire a Cero at Karin."

"And that happened twice," added Orihime. "Sado-san hit Kurosaki-kun twice because Karin-chan was here. If Kurosaki-kun had lost all of his humanity, he wouldn't have hesitated to harm his sister and we'd never have won."

Ashamed, Karin's ears burned. Even if her presence contributed to the victory, she didn't feel as though she did anything special.

The weapon in Renji's hands wavered as the Shinigami's lost his grip. "Maybe you're right," he admitted, but kept his sword pointed at Ichigo. "However! Something doesn't make sense to me, Inoue." His eyes narrowed, and Orihime recoiled. "Why didn't you tell us this sooner?"

Ishida and Karin glanced at her, askance. Having worked hard to wring the truth out of Orihime, Karin could relate to Renji's anger.

Orihime sank to her knees. "I've wanted to for forever!" she confessed. "But nobody asked me for details—you just assumed Kurosaki-kun killed Rukia intentionally. And…and I didn't correct you," revealed Orihime "because I was afraid. What if Kurosaki-kun came back? What if we needed to fight him? Knowing he hadn't meant to kill Rukia, I wasn't confident I could confront him…and, as a result, my shield failed earlier when I needed it the most, when I tried to guard Karin-chan. I feared you, Sado-san, and Ishida-kun might become too weak to fight Kurosaki-kun, too, if I told you everything." Orihime broke down further. "I didn't know that Kurosaki-kun wouldn't attack Karin-chan! I really believed he'd try and kill her and Yuzu-chan! I thought he'd lost himself after killing Rukia, the same as everyone else did…"

Karin and the others observed Orihime open her heart to them, and the rain poured. Ichigo, the target of Orihime's former infatuation, did not hear her innermost feelings yet again. Renji's sword was still ready to chop off Ichigo's head in an instant.

"Still, I despised myself for concealing the truth," Orihime continued, "and I felt worse every day for doing so. I thought I was betraying Kurosaki-kun and everyone by not being honest. It was easy to keep it a secret from you, Renji, and Sado-san, because you two were never around. But with Ishida-kun…" Orihime was clearly avoiding Ishida's gaze. "I was with him almost all the time and I wanted to tell him—and I would have…but then…I…he…"

"That's enough, Inoue-san, we understand!" Ishida interrupted, and Orihime looked at him gratefully. "Renji, you idiot," he said flatly, "haven't you realized that she's not making this up?"

The ragged Shinigami's face was like a stone, but he'd obviously been shaken. Conversely, Karin made up her mind. _I'm going to trust in Ichigo and convince Renji to do the same. _It would be another battle of wills between them—which meant Karin could lose.

Losing to the Shinigami was not an option, though. "You're making a mistake, Renji," Karin remonstrated. "I don't have much to add to what's already been said, but…Ichigo didn't kill anyone tonight that I know of—he came here to protect me." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay, yeah, he did a terrible job of it, and it was totally unnecessary, but doesn't that mean something?"

Renji seemed weary when he met her gaze. "It doesn't matter to me," he replied. "Whatever Inoue says, it doesn't change the fact that he killed Rukia." He looked upwards, unconcerned when the rain splashed against his face. "She still needs to be avenged, no matter what."

Karin stared at him, fixedly and asked, "Why?"

"Why? Why?" Renji barked. "I swore to my soul that I'd get retribution for her!"

"Yeah but, I mean, would she really want you to kill Ichigo for her sake?" Karin shot back. "Don't you think she she'd forgive my brother, if she knew the truth?" She took a deep breath. "Would she forgive you if you killed Ichigo now?"

Renji cringed visibly, and his scarred face contorted as a battle waged on inside him. He opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. His grip on his blade slackened. Karin watched him, uncertain if she'd swayed Renji or pushed him over the edge. Her brother slept peacefully, while Ishida and Orihime kept quiet. Finally, the vengeful Shinigami clasped his fingers around the handle of his Zanpakutou and came to a decision.

With a strangled howl, Renji threw aside his sword. It clattered loudly against the pavement.

Karin groaned in relief and slid to the ground, unaware she'd been holding her breath. Renji turned his back on them, and Orihime limped over to tend to Ishida. Chad stirred and seemed like he would finally wake up. As for Ichigo, he didn't have any wounds, but the shards of his mask lay beside him. Fear welled in Karin against her well when she caught sight of the mask. The memories of this night would dwell within her for a long time yet.

However, after one of Dad's haircuts, she suspected Ichigo would look a lot less like a blood-crazed Hollow and more like her dumbass brother again. Now that she thought about it, having Ichigo back wouldn't fix most of her problems. Yuzu was still pissed off at her and her homework wouldn't finish itself magically. Furthermore, hanging out with Ichigo would never be the same, not after a night like this. The rain pounded harder.

Rukia was gone and never coming back; Karin couldn't forget that. She wouldn't be saying goodbye to her any time soon.


	11. Epilogue

Sorry for the delay. When reading this, keep in mind that it isn't necessarily in chronological order.

* * *

Epilogue

* * *

"You know what," Urahara laughed, "we didn't do anything tonight. We missed out on the main action."

His catty companion hissed at him. Yoruichi's stomach was tightly bound and being carried by Tessai wasn't improving her mood.

"How can you laugh at a time like this?" snapped Yoruichi. She angrily licked at a tiny scratch along her arm. "I was gutted! We nearly died! Look at Tessai—he's crying. Be a _real _man and follow his lead."

"I'm not crying, it's the rain," mumbled Tessai. His face was lost beneath bandages and his glasses.

Urahara lifted a finger. "Ah, but we're still alive, Yoruichi. That's reason to be happy! As a matter of fact, I thought we'd die for certain. We should be celebrating."

Yoruichi's jaw fell. "I was skewered and you lost your arm!"

"So?" Urahara scratched his forehead. "It's only a limb. Could've been worse."

"It's your arm, Kisuke!"

"Bah, I created a line of Shinigami prosthetics ages ago," scoffed Urahara. "I've been prepared to lose an arm for over a century."

"You're serious, aren't you?" Yoruichi gaped.

"A scientist needs both of his hands."

"Yeah, your nights would be lonely without them," she muttered.

Tessai, who was close enough to hear her, guffawed and accidentally squeezed Yoruichi, who yowled in pain.

Urahara cupped his ear with his remaining hand, and leaned forward with a frown. "What was that?"

"I said that you're right," Yoruichi lied, glaring at Tessai. She sighed. "Okay, I admit things could have ended worse. But I don't understand how those kids stopped Ichigo."

Urahara, still eying her suspiciously, explained as best he could. "I believe Kurosaki-san could've returned to his usual self, so long as his friends hit him on the head enough times. And that's probably what happened."

"Wait a sec," Yoruichi threw him a cross look, "you said a minute ago that you believed we'd all die. Now you're saying you thought Ichigo'd be okay?"

He shrugged. "I meant I only thought beating him up _might_ work; I'm surprised it actually did. Most people just get angry when you smack them around, after all."

Yoruichi growled and stopped arguing with him. She turned her attention to their nearby surroundings and changed the subject. "So the other Hollow tonight, the one Sado fought earlier, really was Shinji? Only a small trace of the _reiatsu_ remains and I'm not sure it belonged to him."

"Most likely, it's his." Urahara's face darkened while he spoke. "Aizen killed the other Vizards two years ago, but we know Shinji survived. According to Inoue-san, he dragged Kurosaki-san away from her and the others after Kuchiki-san died." Urahara scowled. "He saved four lives but didn't want to save himself."

Urahara's words brought about a sober silence, and they took a moment to remember Shinji Hirako. The rain fell harder.

Then Yoruichi abruptly grinned. "See, Kisuke, I told you this was no time to laugh." Her grin looked forced and unnatural.

"It was until you brought up Shinji," Urahara retorted and shook his head.

With big teardrops streaking down his bandaged face, Tessai glanced at Yoruichi and his boss. His mouth fell open. "Hey, aren't you both crying?"

Urahara snorted and pulled down the brim of his hat. "Like you said before, Tessai, it's the rain."

* * *

"You tried to kill him! How can we leave him alone with you?"

"You don't have a choice. I'm the only one strong enough to drag him. Your new boyfriend's pushed himself too far. Unless you heal him soon, he won't be getting up again."

"I-I-I know that! And Ishida-kun's not my b-boyfriend…"

"Whatever."

Yasutora groaned and opened his eyes. For a moment, he was at a loss to explain where he was. How was he still alive? Who was arguing? Were Ichigo and his sister okay? What about everyone else? Then all his aches and pains crept into awareness, and a memory of a mask cracking came back to him.

He craned his neck, with no small amount of effort, and saw Renji, Inoue, and Karin standing around Ichigo's fallen form. Ishida was nearby and had similarly collapsed. Thankfully, everyone appeared alive.

"What do you think, Karin-chan?" Inoue turned to Ichigo's little sister. "Should we trust him? Um, Karin-chan?"

_Why can't they trust Renji?_ What'd happened while Yasutora was unconscious?

"I already told you, I'll kick his ass if he tries anything stupid again," Karin said, sounding tired. Her face was pale and she looked exhausted. "If you don't trust him, just trust me."

Renji rolled his eyes. "Listen, if I _was_ going to kill Ichigo, I'd already have done it! Besides, nothing I can do could be worse than how he'll feel once he remembers that he… you know."

Inoue still hesitated.

"It's all right," Yasutora spoke up, startling Inoue and Renji. "I'll go with them."

Inoue fixed a stare on Yasutora. Specifically, her eyes locked on his broken elbow.

"I can manage," he grumbled defensively under Inoue's apprehensive stare. He disregarded his body's protests and stood up.

"Then let's go already!" Renji snapped. "I owe Ichigo and the sooner I pay him back, the better!"

So, Yasutora promised Inoue he'd let her heal him after Ishida was fine, and she finally relented. The group split in two, and Karin offered Yasutora a shoulder. The walk to Ichigo's house was quiet save for rain and the sound of Ichigo's limp body being dragged along the cement. Nobody said a word until Karin slammed the door behind her.

"So…it's over," Yasutora said dully.

Renji grimaced. "Yeah."

"What happened while I was unconscious?"

Renji frowned in consternation and threw up his arms. The Shinigami left soon after. Yasutora needed to ask someone else for answers, apparently. First, though, he had to figure out what to do with his life now that peace had returned.

Come to think of it, he'd done little for himself over the years; he was always helping others—be it guarding Ichigo's back, rescuing Rukia and then Inoue, or training in a basement for his friends' sake. All of a sudden, the future had opened up. His newfound freedom was somewhat alarming.

Should he go back to the band? Last he heard, they'd found a terrible replacement for him. Perhaps he should follow Urahara's advice and finally get a girlfriend. College entrance exams were near and he'd seriously neglected his studying. He could always find a job. Yasutora needed the money and he was sick of living in Urahara-san's basement. What about his powers? Hollows would never be gone for good. Should he stop fighting just because Ichigo was back to normal? He could continue to fight and protect as many people as possible.

Yasutora laughed at himself for questioning the future. If he couldn't decide, why not do all of the above?

* * *

Renji entered Soul Society. The attendants at the gate did a double-take when they realized who he was. Had it been so long since he last returned?

"Oh, sir!" One of the attendants spoke up. "Are you with Captain Unohana or the Captain-Commander?"

_The hell is he talking about?_ Renji ignored the gatekeeper and stepped onto the streets of Rukongai. He nodded to the occasional Shinigami he recognized.

When was the last time Renji visited his division's headquarters? He vaguely recalled going there once: he'd told his lieutenant, what's-her-name, to take care of the paperwork and left. He scowled, which frightened some wimps from the Fourth Division. Hastily, Renji apologized to his unintended victims. They fled before he finished saying sorry.

_Really,_ he chided himself, _what's-her-name?_ What kind of lousy captain didn't remember his lieutenant? Renji swore loudly and again needed to apologize to more innocent bystanders. Ashamed, he searched his memories for his lieutenant's name. What was it? _Ah, yes: Nemu_. How could he forget? She was the daughter of that long-dead maniac.

More random people asked Renji if he'd sided with Unohana or the Captain-Commander. Eventually, he got so irritated by their persistence that he unkindly told all of them to piss off. Then Renji stopped in his path when he realized he was heading towards Byakuya's headquarters instead of his own.

If Renji had difficulty remembering Nemu's name, it was nothing compared to his inability to recall the other seated officers. He couldn't remember any of their names, let alone their faces.

Renji contained his anger and resisted the urge to curse out loud. Nonetheless, the strained expression on his scarred face terrified more rookies. He decided he should have all the scars removed as soon as possible, or else he'd need to accept seeing Shinigami flee from his presence. Also, it occurred to Renji that he should've cleaned himself up after the battle with Ichigo before returning to Soul Society; he was drenched in blood.

_Dammit, why'd I have to realize too late that I was doing a poor job as a captain?_ After admitting his grudge against Ichigo had been a mistake, so many of the decisions he'd made in the last two years felt like mistakes, too. Renji didn't blame Inoue for not telling him the truth sooner, however. He'd been avoiding her and everyone else. _Even if she'd said anything, would I have listened to her before tonight?_

On the streets, people now gave Renji a wide berth. At least they'd stopped asking him who he'd sided with, whatever that meant.

Just when he was about to curse himself again, the tiny voice in Renji's head told him to relax. He ignored it out of habit, and was startled when the voice called him a dumbass. He halted in confusion, and dimly noted that he stood before his division headquarters. He recognized that voice—it wasn't his own.

"Captain Abarai? Yes, it is you," Nemu, his lieutenant, said in a monotone voice. She didn't sound the least bit surprised that her long-absent boss had walked through the door. "Everything is in order. I anticipate the others will be relieved to see you."

Feeling the scrutiny from his subordinate, Renji shook himself and gave Nemu an awkward smile. How to explain himself? Screw it, he didn't need to—he was the captain. "Ah…err…I'm back."

"Welcome back." She bowed.

His smile widened and he made his way past her and into his office. He had plenty of time to make it up to her and the rest of the guys. But he needed a minute alone first.

_Fifty years and now another two_. How many times had he failed to see what was in plain sight? Rukia obviously hadn't wanted to be alone after being adopted into the Kuchiki family, but he'd repressed his instinct to reach out to her. Furthermore, she wouldn't have wanted her childhood friend to destroy himself trying to kill another friend. Renji had refused to consider her wishes a second time.

She'd been beside him ever since she died. Not literally next to him, but close enough for him to know better. Yes, Renji knew the source of that small, imaginary voice. That voice came from his memories of her.

For two years, he'd forgotten how to remember Rukia.

* * *

Ishida dreamed he saw a pair of brown eyes. It wasn't all he saw in the dream. He saw _all_ of her in his dream. All that was appropriate. In his dreams, she was always clothed in something Ishida designed for her. His dreams' beginnings, at least, were not indecent. Maybe this dream was different, mind you, and was not so proper. Ishida wasn't certain since those brown eyes dominated his vision.

Then the brown eyes blinked and Ishida jumped. And Inoue, the subject of his dream, was startled by his being startled and jumped. For a moment, their hearts pounded and then they laughed. This was no dream, he slowly realized.

His chuckles died down and he grimaced, recalling what'd happened that night. Inoue's good mirth similarly cooled, likely due to the same memories. Ishida was glad the worst had been avoided, but the victory tonight signaled the end. Time was dwindling. Ishida and Inoue would graduate in less than ten months and then go their separate ways.

He frowned. A hand softly pressed against his arm.

Inoue lowered her head and avoided his gaze. "It's all right, Ishida-kun, I understand," she mumbled, and quickly took her hand off him.

"Y-you do?" he stuttered, dumbstruck. Why did she stop touching his arm? Hastily, he added in all formality, "Thank you for taking care of me, Inoue-san. Your care is always highly appreciated, I assure you."

She recoiled and his brow furrowed. Why did she stop touching his arm? Inoue was in no hurry to reply to him, even though they were alone.

Wait, why were they alone? "Where is everyone?" Ishida asked, looking around. His eyes widened when he realized they were in a bedroom. Hers, he assumed. So was he on her bed? He'd been so focused on her that he'd failed to register his surroundings. He flushed when he noticed the room smelled like Inoue.

"They left. Renji and Sado-san took Kurosaki-kun and Karin-chan home," replied Inoue, rubbing her arms and shivering. Perhaps Ishida should put an arm around her shoulder; she looked cold, despite the heat. No, that would be too forward.

Ishida nodded. "Ah, I see. And we are?" Hopefully, he didn't sound too hopeful.

"In my apartment. It's raining outside and my place was nearby," explained Inoue, still not meeting his eyes.

Ishida nodded again, as if it were perfectly normal for him to be in her room. On her bed, no less! Inoue'd healed him, so should it be this difficult for him to breathe?

Eventually, Inoue, speaking so quietly he barely heard her, asked him:

"You're not angry…are you? Though, like I said," she added bitterly, "I understand if you are."

He looked at her in confusion. "Angry?" He wasn't mad that she stopped touching his arm, though he'd prefer it if she still were. "I'm not angry," he denied out of reflex.

"Yes, you are! You have more reason to be mad than anyone else!"

How did she know that? No man else would miss her hand on his arm than he.

"Listen, Inoue-san, it's perfectly fine," he assured her, "you can always do it again."

She stared at him, aghast, as if he'd just said the most horrendous thing in the world. He gaped, too—it was just his arm, nothing indecent!

Inoue backed away from him like he was some kind of monster. "Ishida-kun…how could you even…? Why would you want me to keep secrets from you again?"

He frowned. Keep secrets from him? What was she talking about? "What does this have to do with my arm?"

She glanced at his arm, taken aback. "What does your arm have to do with me hiding the truth from you about Kurosaki-kun and Rukia? What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"About how you're mad at me for not telling you about what really happened two years ago!" Tears were on the verge of falling from her brown eyes.

"Oh. That." Ishida hadn't even considered that. "But I'm not mad at you for that."

She opened her mouth and closed it, seeming bewildered by his simple denial. "Y-you're not?"

"No," he shook his head. "What does that matter? You had your reasons and matters turned out fine in the end." Then he reconsidered his answer. "No wait, I take that back. If it was hurting you so much to bottle it up, you should have said something sooner."

She went still, shocked by this admission. Abruptly, she hugged him. The thought struck him that he hadn't fully recovered, and that her embrace was so strong it might crack a few of his ribs. Odd how that didn't alarm him. Ishida patted her on the back until she calmed down.

"You know," he said to pass the time, "I tried so hard to protect you tonight, but you ended up saving me instead. I owe you, and even though we only have a few months left, I'll do my best to return the favor."

"But you have plenty of time, don't you?" Inoue sounded puzzled. "What's this about a few months?"

Now Ishida was baffled. "We won't see each other after university starts, right?"

"What? I thought we were both trying for the same university. Unless you don't want to go to the same school as me?"

"No!" Ishida protested vehemently, "I do! That is, if you want to go there with me there, too?"

"Yes." For the first time since he woke up, she smiled. "It's settled then."

That smile was a perfect complement to her brown eyes, and it left him speechless. It dawned on Ishida that dreams couldn't measure up to reality.

* * *

Isshin's son snapped awake. When Ichigo noticed he'd been sleeping at the dinner table, he promptly stood up, only to lose his balance. He leaned against a wall and clutched his head, looking as though he were nursing a hangover. Only Isshin knew his son hadn't been drinking. If only that'd been the case.

"Oh, you're home," Isshin said loudly. "More importantly, where's Rukia?" She could help his son better than he could. Urahara never did tell Isshin what'd happened to her.

"Who wakes up his son like this? What kind of father are you?"

"I'm a worried father since you haven't explained where Rukia is yet."

"She's…" Ichigo frowned. "I'm not sure. I can't remember…Wait, how long has it been since I last saw you? I don't remember your beard being so long."

"Just go and get Rukia back. Right now!"

"Huh, what's with you? Rukia can take care of herself…I don't know, but I'm sure she's okay."

"It's Karin, your sister!"

"What?"

"She came home miserable—she pretended she was fine, obviously—and nothing I've done can cheer her up. Now Yuzu's scared, too, and you're a good-for-nothing son, so only Rukia can help out!"

"I...Okay, I'll find her."

"Hurry!"

"I'm already out the door, jackass...!"

His son's voice trailed off as he slammed the door behind him. Immediately, Isshin dropped the obnoxious father act and sighed in relief. He was worried about the girls, all right, but Ichigo was the real cause for concern. Karin didn't need Rukia: Ichigo did. With some luck, the boy would find her before too long. Times like these, he missed Masaki the most.

What the hell kind of fool things had Ichigo done as a Hollow? In any case, getting his boy out of the house might help Karin; Isshin bet it was her brother that'd ruined her day. Besides, Isshin needed a minute to kick Kon out of Ichigo's body.

Isshin gnashed his teeth in frustration. Seriously, what had his kids done tonight?

Urahara must know something. Isshin had some questions for him of the violent variety the next time they met. No, that was a bad idea—Isshin knew that fighting his old friend would not help his children in the least right now. Nor would it even make Isshin feel any better. After all, he might lose.

Pacing, Isshin waited for Ichigo to return with Rukia. Surely, Rukia must've come rushing over as soon as Ichigo lost it, so it shouldn't take Ichigo too long long to find her.

"Really," he muttered, "what did Ichigo do to Karin?"

Then, mid-pace, Isshin's foot brushed against something. He looked down in curiosity and saw two small objects. _Now, how did _that_ get into the house?_ Did Karin throw them aside when she stumbled inside? Or did they belong to Ichigo? Cautiously, Isshin picked them up. They were two fragments of the same item and he placed them together.

For a long while, Isshin stared at what he held. In his hands was a horned black mask with two rough gashes for eyes and an uneven, jagged mouth. While holding it, Isshin swore he could hear a cruel laughter.

He frowned and grunted, dropping the broken mask. Then he grabbed the shards and threw them in the garbage.

Feeling uneasy, he tapped his foot against the floor and waited. How long could it take Ichigo to bring Rukia back? His gaze idly fell upon the calendar and Isshin recalled the date with a start—it was the fifteenth of July. Come to think of it, Isshin forgot to wish his son a happy birthday.

* * *

Ichigo walked through town listlessly, guided only by a strong desire to reunite with Rukia. His father had said to bring her back quickly, but he'd no idea where she could be. Was she even in Karakura? Soul Society? Answers and memories eluded him; his mind was empty, blank. His body was stiff and moved mechanically. He felt like he'd just woken up after a deep, long sleep.

Still, Ichigo searched, if only because he didn't know what else to do. The town seemed inexplicably unfamiliar to Ichigo. He got the impression he didn't belong here any longer. It was as though Karakura had aged several years without him. How were his friends doing lately? His sisters? _I should know…but I don't._

For the rest of the night, he looked for Rukia. He never found her. He eventually returned home and told his dad that he'd resume the search tomorrow. Isshin balked, but Ichigo was too tired to argue with his dad. After Ichigo collapsed while walking up the stairs, his father helped him to bed.

The nightmares began as soon as Ichigo shut his eyes.

* * *

Karin trampled up the stairs in a hurry, unconcerned about the racket she made. She hadn't spoken a word since coming home. She hadn't stopped to answer her dad's questions, she'd been so anxious to get away from Ichigo. For two years, Karin had searched high and low for her brother, and upon finding him, she couldn't wait to get out of his sight!

A head poked out of a door on the second floor. "Hey! Who's making all of that noise? Some of us here want to sleep!" For once, Kon's scowl matched Ichigo's trademark expression.

Fresh memories of a masked man flinging Orihime aside and blood splattering came to Karin upon seeing the fake. She dug her nails into her palms. _Now I'm too chicken to face a copy of my brother? _Karin put all the anger she felt at herself into a fierce glare directed Kon's way. He withered under her glower, and pawed uncertainly at the face he'd borrowed from Ichigo.

"W-what is it?" he blubbered, thunderstruck. "Did I forget to wash or something? Err…are you all right?"

His response was so unlike Ichigo that the bad memories fled. "It's nothing," she said to Kon and stalked away from him.

With the _real_ Ichigo back, Kon would soon be out of the picture, but Karin had to admit she'd miss him a little. Ever since she'd learned the truth about the fake, it'd been a lot easier to put up with his antics. If only there were some way to keep him around; if nothing else, he made for a good target when Karin needed to vent her frustrations. Oh well—she wouldn't miss him that much.

Karin stormed into her room when a drowsy voice froze her.

"Karin?"

Yuzu. It seemed Kon wasn't the only one she'd woken up. Karin saw her twin sister peering through half-lidded eyes in the dim light. Karin groaned weakly: after all the hell she went through tonight, she'd forgotten about her quarrel with Yuzu.

"Yeah?" Karin grunted, wincing at how weakly her voice came out.

Yuzu didn't reply immediately, so Karin slipped into her bed. This stupid squabble began because Yuzu wouldn't believe that "Ichigo," that is, Kon, was not their brother.

No, that was wrong. It started because Karin thought Yuzu had to know the truth. In hindsight, Karin couldn't understand why they were bickering. This ordeal seemed so stupid.

"Um, are you okay?" Yuzu finally asked when Karin thought she'd fallen back to sleep.

A day ago, her concern would have irritated Karin. After witnessing their brother go crazy, Yuzu's honest concern put a big lump in her throat. "I'm f-f—I mean, no, I'm not."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Karin recalled the night with a shudder. "Not really, no."

"Oh…" Yuzu sounded hurt. Her back was turned, so Karin couldn't see her sister's face.

It occurred to Karin then that she finally had proof. She could prove she was right about their brother. Except it seemed pointless now to flaunt the real Ichigo in Yuzu's face like Karin had imagined. Would that seriously make things better with Yuzu? Would Yuzu believe there had ever been a fake?

Was it really so important that Yuzu believe her?

"I'm sorry!" she apologized in a rush, hearing a strange echo.

Karin needed a moment to realize the echo came from her sister. They'd said sorry simultaneously. Suddenly, Yuzu scrambled out of her bed and rushed to Karin's side. No more words were said as the bottled-up emotions flowed out, but no words were needed.

Drifting off to sleep that night, Karin felt hope. If she could mend the rift between her and Yuzu, she could do the same with Ichigo. Her brother was alive, that's what counted. Their family would return to normal, or as normal as they could get—Karin would make sure of it. Tomorrow, she'd say good morning to Ichigo and take things from there.

* * *

"The Laughing Man's last act, before turning his face to the bloodstained ground, was to pull off his mask."

- J.D. Salinger

The above quotation is from one of Salinger's short story that influenced this fanfic. Only, this story changed a lot before I uploaded the first chapter, so the relevance of the quotation towards the fic has diminished. But it still has a connection and resonance with me, so it stays.

For those wondering about Isshin's demands that Ichigo find Rukia, remember that Isshin never learned what happened to her in this fic. If he knew her fate, he wouldn't have sent Ichigo on such a futile quest.

Thank you to everybody who commented on this story, and to those who read silently. And especially to Rachel, who is nothing but supportive.


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